Accurate prediction of service life is a major challenge for the reliable application of lithium ion batteries in satellite and electric vehicle fields. This paper carries out systematic orthogonal experiments to extract key stress factor of capacity loss for commercial LiCOo(2)/MCMB (mesocarbon microbeads) lithium ion batteries cycled in shallow-depth discharge. Further, single stress factor and multi-stress factor models consisting of temperature, discharge rate, taper voltage and depth of discharge for cycle life prediction of lithium ion batteries are developed. The physicochemical significance of the life prediction model is interpreted by electrochemical analysis. The practical applicability of the models is validated by experimental data. Our multi-stress factor model is helpful to predicting the lifetime of LIBs with shallow-depth discharge, and to optimizing the operation regime of LIBs for electric vehicle or satellite use. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.