The mild combustion synthesis of cobalt vanadate involving the reaction of V2O5, Co(NO3)2 and glycine as starting materials is reported. The synthesized material is annealed at 550°C and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge–discharge cycling techniques. XRD analysis indicates that the structure of the synthesized cobalt vanadate is amorphous. The initial delivered capacity is ∼275mAhg−1 in a Li//CoV2O5 cell at a current density of 0.05mAcm−2 when cycled between 2 and 4V using 1M LiClO4 in propylene carbonate as electrolyte. The capacity remains stable even after 10 cycles. The cobalt vanadate prepared by this new synthetic route is, therefore, a potential candidate for lithium secondary batteries.