A composite material anode for lithium ion batteries (LIB) consisted of electrodeposited Sn-Sb alloy dispersing in a conductive micro-porous carbon membrane coated on Cu current collector was investigated. The composite material was obtained by directly electrodepositing Sn-Sb alloy on the micro-porous membrane electrode via micro-pores in it, which was prepared by casting a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) solution containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) on a copper foil and then immersing the copper foil into de-ionized water to perform phase inversion, following by heat-treatment. SEM examinations showed that the composite material consisted of isolated pillar-like structure SnSb electrodeposited on Cu current collector dispersing in a conductive micro-porous carbon membrane deriving from pyrolysis of PAN. Constant current charge and discharge tests using the composite anode showed stable coulombic efficiency and desirable cyclability. The reversible discharging capacity was 339.5 mAh g(-1) after 50 cycles, corresponding to 78.6% of the discharge capacity retention. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.