Mesoporous rutile TiO2 nanoneedles have been successfully synthesized using a reverse microemulsion-mediated sol-gel method at room temperature. The materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the Bruauner-Emmet-Teller (BET) adsorption method, and their electrochemical properties were investigated by galvanostatic charge and discharge tests. XRD observations revealed the formation of a pure rutile TiO2 phase. Furthermore, TEM observation revealed the presence of a highly porous needle-like morphology. The electrochemical measurements show that the nanoneedles deliver an initial capacity of 305 mA h g(-1) as anode material for Li-ion batteries and sustain a capacity value of 128 mA h g(-1) beyond 15 cycles. The reported synthesis is simple, mild, energy efficient, and without postcalcination. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.