Li2FeSiO4/C cathode material was synthesized by a traditional solid-state reaction method with Li2CO3, FeC2O4 center dot 2H(2)O, nano SiO2 as starting materials and pitch as the carbon source. For comparison, the Li2FeSiO4/C with glucose as the carbon source and the pristine Li2FeSiO4 were also prepared. The as-prepared materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, elementary analyzer, BET specific surface area, galvanostatic charge-discharge test and AC impedance spectroscopy. The results demonstrated that the Li2FeSiO4/C composites showed better electrochemical properties compared with the pristine Li2FeSiO4. Surprisingly, the Li2FeSiO4/C with pitch as carbon source exhibited the best electrochemical properties among the three samples, it delivered a specific discharge capacity of 139 mAh g(-1), 127 mAh g(-1), 118 mAh g(-1) and 103 mAh g(-1) at 0.2 C, 0.5 C, 1 C and 2 C, respectively. After 100 cycles at the rate of 1 C, the discharge capacity remained 93.6% of its initial value. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.