This study is an investigation of the electrochemical performance of Cu2O nanorods in Li ion battery application. The template-mediated electroplating was applied to fabricate Cu2O nanorod arrays. The morphological observation shows that the nanorods with 60 nm diam and 450 nm length were grown perpendicularly to the substrate. The cyclic voltammetry sweeping indicates a reversible electrochemical reactivity between Cu2O nanorods and Li, and cycling tests show that the nanorod arrays exhibit a capacity of 330 mAh/g after 100 cycles. The high capacity and good cycle retention imply that Cu2O nanorods are a candidate anode material for rechargeable power source. (c) 2006 The Electrochemical Society.