Multi-wavelength Raman and EPR spectroscopies have been used on ball-milled graphite to investigate the effect of varying crystallite size and defect concentration. A correlation between Raman ID/IG intensity ratio and EPR T-1 spin lattice relaxation time of conduction electrons has been discovered which could represent an appealing characterization technique for graphitic materials. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.