Layered LiV3O8 compound was synthesized by solid-state reaction with quick quenching in freezing air. Its structure, morphology and grain size were tested by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) experiments. The results show that the compound has pure phase, low crystallinity and homogeneous morphology with large interlayer distance. The electrochemical performances were measured by charge-discharge cycling, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results indicate that the compound has more Li+ ions insertion/extraction sites and is beneficial to Li+ ions reversible movement. It delivers the respective capacities of 256 and 189 mAh g(-1) in the 1 st and 30th cycles at the charge-discharge rates of 0.25C, and 208 and 172 mAh g(-1) at the charge-discharge rates of 0.5C, respectively. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.