Although they may improve the electrochemical performance of lithium-ion batteries, core shell structural anode materials with high-capacity suffer from large volume expansion and dissolution during lithium-ion intercalation/extraction. To well understand these problems, failure modes are analyzed in core shell structural active materials of a lithium-ion battery during the lithiation-delithiation process. Taking into account the lithium-ion concentration distribution along the direction of radius, the diffusion-induced stress field is calculated according to a perfectly elastic plastic model. Based on the strain energy release rate, the critical sizes of core and shell for avoiding surface fracture and interface debonding are determined as a function of the state of charge. Furthermore, the three-dimensional phase diagram is constructed to demonstrate the relationship between the shell thickness, the outer radius of core, and the ratio of outer and inner radii. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.