Hierarchical structured Li4Ti5O12, assembling from randomly oriented nanosheets with a thickness of about 10-16 nm, is fabricated bya facile hydrothermal route and following calcination. It is demonstrated that the as-prepared sample has good cycle stability and excellent high rate performance. In particular, the discharge capacity of 128 mAhg(-1) can be obtained at the high current density of 2000 mA g(-1), which is about 87% of that at the low current density of 200 mA g(-1) upon cycling, indicating that the as-prepared sample can endure great changes of various discharge current densities to retain a good stability. In addition, the pseudocapacitive effect based on the hierarchical structure, also contributes to the high rate capability of Li4Ti5O12, which can be confirmed in cyclic voltammograms. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.