Well-defined Cu3P hierarchical dendrites were successfully synthesized by a facile and effective surfactant-assisted hydrothermal approach. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated that the as-obtained Cu3P had a well-crystallized hexagonal phase and consisted of a wealth of Cu3P dendritic microstructures. A surfactant-assisted growth accompanied by the Ostwald ripening process was proposed for the formation. As anode materials for lithium ion batteries, the electrochemical property of the Cu3P dendrites was also examined. The results showed that the initial discharge capacity of the Cu3P dendrites exceeded 1300 mA h/g and it still kept at 291 mA h/g after 20 cycles, which might be related to the size of Cu3P particles and their assembly structure. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.