One-dimensional (1D) nanorods of LiV3O8 single crystals have been fabricated by using well-defined home-made VO2 (B) nanorods as the vanadium resource, combined with a convenient solid-state reaction. The as-obtained LiV3O8 nanorods were characterized by XRD, TEM and SEM, indicating this material was highly crystalline and a single phase. The electrochemical performance of LiV3O8 nanorods as the positive electrode material for rechargeable lithium batteries was investigated, which demonstrated that as-prepared LiV3O8 nanorods exhibited as high as 348 mAh g(-1) discharge capacity in first cycle at 20 mA g(-1) current density, and still remained at 303 mAh g(-1) at 50 mA g(-1) afterwards; moreover, until 50 cycles, they kept 315 mAh g(-1), recorded at 50 mA g(-1). All these results imply that single-crystalline 1D nanorods of LiV3O8 are promising cathode material for rechargeable lithium batteries. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.