The effects of particle size, chemical composition and cycling potential range on the electrochemical properties of micro-sized Sn-Sb electrodes were investigated in terms of initial irreversible capacity, rate-capability and cycling stability. Large particle sized SnSb electrode shows a low initial irreversible capacity and a relatively good cyclic performance when charged/discharged at 100 mAh g(-1) due to the low specific surface area and loose structural characteristics of SnSb particles. When charged and discharged at high current density, large particle sized SnSb electrode displays a fast capacity fading compared to the small sized one due to the long diffusion distance of Li-ions. The Sn/Sb ratio has effect on the cycling stability of electrodes. Sn-riched and Sb-riched Sn-Sb electrodes exhibit fast capacity decline while sample with pure SnSb intermetallic phase shows a relatively good cycling stability. To increase the lower limit of cycling potential range cannot improve the cyclic performance while to decrease the upper limit to 0.8 V can control the cycling stability of SnSb electrode significantly. The Sb component is considered to be the main cause of the capacity fading of Sn-Sb electrode. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.