To simultaneously achieve high capacity and good cyclability for silicon suboxide (SiO x ) as a Li-ion battery anode material, we compared two different approaches under the same volume change rate of SiO x during charge/discharge cycling: choosing a SiO x sample with appropriate x and restricting the available capacity in a sample with low x. Herein, the effect of capacity restriction in SiO0.17 on improving the cyclability was examined, by which the volume change of Li–Si alloy decreased. As a result, the SiO0.17 film electrode that was partially lithiated by cutting off the charging potential at 0.2V vs. Li/Li+ exhibited good cyclability similar to the fully lithiated SiO0.68; however, the energy density of the former became eventually lower than that of the latter. These results showthat choosing a SiO x sample with an appropriate x was a better alternative than restricting the capacity of a low x sample.