Lithium-rich layer oxide Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 nanoparticles were fabricated through solution combustion synthesis by controlling NO3-/CH3COO- ratio of the precursors. The relationships between the NO3-/CH3COO- ratio and structure as well as electrochemical performance of Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 nanoparticles are investigated. XRD reveals that Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 nanoparticles obtained with a suitable NO3-/CH3COO- ratio of 3:1 (LLO-3N1A) is composed of the smallest nanocrystallite of 18 nm. SEM reflects that the average primary particles of LLO-3N1A are the smallest with a size of 35 nm. Those unique characteristic guarantee the excellent electrochemical performance of LLO-3N1A. LLO-3N1A exhibits a specific capacity of 252.3 mAh g(-1) at 0.1 C. In addition, LLO-3N1A also shows best rate capability among the four prepared Li1.2Ni0.2Mn0.6O2 samples. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.