From mixed (anatase and rutile) bulk particles, anatase TiO2 nanotubes are synthesized in this study by an alkaline hydrothermal reaction and a consequent annealing at 300-400 degrees C. The physical and electrochemical properties of the TiO2 nanotube are investigated for use as an anode active material for lithium-ion batteries. Upon the first discharge-charge sweep and simultaneous impedance measurements at local potentials, this study shows that interfacial resistance decreases significantly when passing lithium ions through a solid electrolyte interface layer at the lithium insertion/deinsertion plateaus of 1.75/2.0V, corresponding to the redox potentials of anatase TiO2 nanotubes. For an anatase TiO2 nanotube containing minor TiO2(B) phase obtained after annealing at 300 degrees C, the high-rate capability can be strongly enhanced by an isotropic dispersion of TiO2 nanotubes to yield a discharge capacity higher than 150 mAh g(-1), even upon 100 cycles of 10 C-rate discharge-charge operations. This is suitable for use as a high-power anode material for lithium-ion batteries. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.