Silicon (Si), associated with its natural abundance, low discharge voltage vs. Li/Li+, and extremely high theoretical capacity (~4200mAhg−1,), has been extensively explored as anode for lithium ion battery. One of the key challenges for using Si as anode is the large volume change upon lithiation and delithiation, which causes a fast capacity fading. Over the last few years, dramatic progress has been made for addressing this issue. In this paper, we review the progress towards tailoring of Si as anode for lithium ion battery. The paper is organized such that it covers the fundamentals, the promises offered by nanoscale designs, and the challenges that remained to be addressed to allow the application of Si based materials as high capacity anode for lithium ion batteries.