Since the birth of the lithium ion battery in the early 1990s a lot of methods has been tried to prepare materials with better performance and/or lower cost. In comparison with other methods, mechanochemical methods are advantageous because they are based on simple processes, show high efficiency, low energy consumption and cost They are widely applied to prepare materials for lithium ion batteries such as cathode materials, anodic ones and solid electrolytes. The latest progress on these aspects is reviewed in this paper including the effects of mechanochemical methods and mechanisms in improving electrochemical performance. In addition, some problems concerning some materials and further directions are pointed out.