This paper is theoretically suggested to describe the combined effects of diffusion induced stress and dislocation induced stress in a cylinder lithium ion battery electrode on the nucleation and propagation of cracks under galvanostatic or potentiostatic solute insertion and extraction. By the conventional assumption, we develop this model accounting for dislocation mechanics in a cylindrical electrode under axisymmetric diffusion induced stress, focusing on the dislocation and size effects on the magnitude and distribution of the combined DIS during galvanostatic or potentiostatic condition. The results show that dislocation induced stress can decrease tensile stress, and converts the state of stress from tensile to compressive. The trend of the crack nucleation and propagation can be prevented as the cylindrical particle radius drops down to nanoscale range. Dislocation induced stress suppressing the crack nucleation, however, provides a novel way of mitigating internal damage in a cylindrical lithium ion battery during cycling. It may be used in conjunction with the methods of nano-engineering to create microstructures tailored to maximize suppressing the crack nucleation, yielding new strategy to improve battery life and avoid failure. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.