A high capacity Li2MnSiO4/C nanocomposite cathode material with good rate performance for lithium ion batteries through a solution route has been successfully prepared. The material is able to deliver a reversible capacity of 209mAhg−1 in the first cycle, i.e. more than one electron exchange can be reversible cycled in the materials. The highly dispersion of nanocrystalline Li2MnSiO4 which was surround by a thin film of carbon was attributed to the cause of excellent performance of the materials. Ex situ XRD and IR results show that poor cycling behavior of Li2MnSiO4 might be due to an amorphization process of the materials.