Carbon-coated lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4/C) was hydrothermally synthesized from commercial LiOH, FeSO4 and H3PO4 as raw materials and glucose as carbon precursor in aqueous solution at 180°C for 6h followed by being fired at 750°C for 6h. The samples were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and constant current charge–discharge cycling test. The results show that the synthesized powders are in situ coated with carbon precursor produced from glucose. At ambient temperature (25±2°C), the specific discharge capacities are 154mAhg−1 at 0.2C and 136mAhg−1 at 5C rate, and the cycling capacity retention rate reaches 98% over 90 cycles. The excellent electrochemical performance can be correlated with the in situ formation of carbon precursor/carbon, thus leading to the even distribution of carbon and the enhancement of conductibility of individual grains.