Li1+xV3O8 material was synthesized by sintering the gel starting from LiOH center dot H2O, NH4VO3 and C6H8O7 center dot H2O in a scientific microwave oven with temperature and power control, which is called microwave sol-gel route. The samples sintered by microwave in various durations were investigated via X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammograms (CVs) and charge/discharge test to evaluate the effect of sintering duration. It shows that sintering duration in microwave at 400 degrees C between 100 and 150 min is a more suitable option for MW-sol-gel route to prepare cathode material Li1+xV3O8. Our paper suggests that the microwave sol-gel route is a rapid and efficient synthetic method for preparing Li1+xV3O8 cathode material. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.