A facile graphite assisted approach is proposed to synthesize high performance LiMn2O4 nanostructures. Graphite plates with different sizes and thicknesses are found to have different influences on the structure, morphology and performance of LiMn2O4. Larger and thicker graphite plates result in 2-D porous LiMn2O4 nanoplates whereas smaller and thinner ones lead to the formation of dispersed nanoparticles. Despite the smaller lattice constant, the shorter LiO and longer MnO bonds, and the lower BET surface area compared to dispersed LiMn2O4 nanoparticles, LiMn2O4 nanoplates formed by primary nanoparticles with similar sizes and morphologies exhibit the superior performance because of the better interparticle electronic conductivity. LiMn2O4 nanoplates show the discharge capacity of 104 mAh g−1 at 50 C and the capacity retention of 70.0% after 1000 cycles for 1 C at RT, better than the corresponding values, 95 mAh g−1 and 64.5% for dispersed LiMn2O4 nanoparticles, respectively. The more superior performance of LiMn2O4 nanoplates compared to dispersed LiMn2O4 nanoparticles is particularly manifested in the case of lower percentage conductive additive, which is very significant for practical application. This simple, cost effective, green and up scalable approach can also be employed to synthesize other 2–D nanostructured materials.