Mesoporous materials have gained a great deal of interest as catalysts because of their unique textural and structural characteristics. In this study, mesoporous spheres of anatase-TiO2 with a specific surface area of 147 m(2)/g and a pore volume of 0.139 cm(3)/g, were successfully synthesized by combining a sol-gel process with an anionic surfactant (SDS)-assisted templating method. When used as the active component of the negative electrode materials for lithium batteries, they exhibit a large initial electrochemical lithium insertion capacity of 257 mAh/g, good reversibility and cyclic performance, as well as high discharge-charge rate properties. (c) 2007 The Electrochemical Society.