A high capacity carbon anode with good cyclability for dry polymer lithium-ion batteries was obtained by the co-addition of vapor grown carbon fiber (VGCF) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) into a composite carbon electrode of spherical mesocarbon microbeads (MCMB) and a lithium ion conducting binder of polyethylene oxide (PEO) with Li(CF3SO2)(2)N (LiTFSI). An electrode with MCMB, PEO19LiTFSI and VGCF exhibits high reversible capacity of over 330 mAh g(-1), but poor cycling performance; the capacity retention was 71% at the 50th cycle. In contrast, the electrode with MCMB, PEO19LiTFSI, VGCF and CNTs has excellent cycling performance with a reversible capacity of ca. 310 mAh g(-1) and reversible capacity retention of 97% at the 50th cycle. The thin and long CNTs could be useful to maintain electrical contact in the cathode matrix during the volume change caused by lithium insertion and extraction into or from the MCMB. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.