Since the birth of lithium ion battery in the end of 1980s and early 1990s many kinds of anode materials have been studied. Nevertheless, graphitic carbon is still the only commercially available product. As a result, modification of carbonaceous anode materials has been a research focus. In this paper, latest progress on carbon anode materials for lithium ion batteries is briefly reviewed including research on mild oxidation of graphite, formation of composites with metals and metal oxides, coating by polymers and other kinds of carbons, and carbon nanotubes. These modifications result in great advances; novel kinds of carbon anodes will come in the near future, which will propel the development of lithium ion batteries.