With their unique structural, mechanical, and electrical properties, carbon nanotubes are promising candidates for use as anode material in lithium ion batteries. As an allotrope of graphite, carbon nanotubes have already been presented as a competitive lithium storage material. What is more, carbon nanotubes can be a critical component in nanostructured anode materials with greatly improved capacity and cyclability. Carbon nanotubes have demonstrated to be very effective buffering components, and can serve as the backbone in nanostructured anode materials since they can alleviate the degradation of the structural integrity that often results from the significant volume change associated with the charging and discharging process. In addition, the highly conductive carbon nanotubes offer enhanced electronic transport in these nanostructured anode materials. This paper reviews the recent progress of using carbon nanotubes as components of anode material to improve the performance of lithium ion batteries. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.