Lithiated cathode materials are economically prepared using eutectic self-mixing method, spontaneous mixing of molten acetates and direct thermal reaction, without pulverization, grinding, agglomeration, morphology controlling, particle size controlling, and even any artificial stirring. When the chemical compounds with low melting point, such as lithium acetate and manganese acetate, are exposed to their eutectic temperature, they can be fluid substances by themselves without any solvents and spontaneous mixing. Using this method, we succeed in obtaining various lithiated cathode materials by just simple heat treatment. The discharge capacities of 149.5, 162.2, and 112.0 mA h/g for LiCoO2, LiNi0.8Co0.2O2, and LiMn2O4, respectively, prepared by this method demonstrate that the prepared materials are quite prospective as cathode materials for lithium rechargeable battery. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.