The electrochemical behavior of partially oxidized graphite electrodes coated with 50Å thick Au, Cu, In, Pb or Sn layers has been studied by slow scan rate cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has also been applied to Cu- and Sn-coated electrodes in order to study the effect of the metal coating on the interfacial intercalation/deintercalation kinetics. The results demonstrate that certain metallic layers produce remarkable improvements of intercalation kinetics of graphite electrodes by reducing the charge-transfer and the solid–electrolyte interface (SEI) resistance making this type of surface modification attractive for the development of high rate anodes for lithium-ion batteries.