Carbon-coated LiMnPO4 is prepared by PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone)-assisted solid-state reaction. The structure and morphology of the materials are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical properties of the materials are investigated by galvanostatic charge-discharge test. It is found that the introduction of grinding aid (PVP) in the precursor caused uniform and smaller particle size in the final products, resulting in a regular carbon coating layer around the LiMnPO4 particles. As a result, an improved electrochemical performance is obtained. The carbon-coated LiMnPO4 exhibits a high capacity, a good cyclability and an excellent rate capability. These excellent results are elucidated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy test, which show that there is decrease of charge transfer resistance and faster Li-ion diffusion in carbon-LiMnPO4 cathode materials after adding PVP. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.