The xSnO .(100-x)B2O3 (0less than or equal toxless than or equal to80) glasses were successfully prepared by a mechanical milling technique. The glass with 40 mol% SnO showed the maximum glass transition temperature of 347degreesC. The SnO-B2O3 milled glasses consisted of both BO3 and BO4 units, and the fraction of BO4 units was maximized at the composition of 50 mol% SnO. The electrochemical properties of the milled glasses were examined using a simple three electrodes cell with a conventional liquid electrolyte. The glasses with high SnO content exhibited high charge capacities more than 1100 mAh g(-1) and discharge capacities more than 700 mAh g(-1) at the first cycle. The SnO-B2O3 milled glasses proved to work as anode materials for rechargeable lithium batteries. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.