A series of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries with the formula LiV3−x Ni x O8 (x =0.000, 0.025, 0.050 and 0.100) have been synthesized by a novel low-temperature solid-state method. The synthesized cathode materials have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), discharge–charge test, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). These results indicate that LiV2.95Ni0.050O8 shows much better electrochemical performances than LiV3O8. This is due to better electrochemical reversibility and lower particle-to-particle resistance after Ni2+ doping.