Agglomerate spheric Li4Ti5O12/C nano-composite is synthesized using Ti-(OC4H9)(4), LiAc center dot 2H(2)O and polyvinylpyrrolidone through a hydrothermal-assisted sol-gel reaction and is characterized by X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Test results indicate that compared with the electrochemical performance of bulk Li4Ti5O12, the electrochemical performance of Li4Ti5O12/C has been greatly improved. Li4Ti5O12/C has a high-rate performance of 127.8 mAh g(-1) at 20 degrees C and a capacity retention of 146.7 mAh g(-1) after 1000 cycles at 5 degrees C. It is therefore concluded that Li4Ti5O12/C nano-composite is a promising candidate for applications in high-rate lithium ion batteries. Crown Copyright (C) 2013 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.