Lithium-oxygen batteries (LOBs) have attracted much attention because of their extraordinarily high specific energies. They possess critical weaknesses, however, such as poor cyclic stability, low energy efficiencies, as well as serious safety issues arising from the formation of lithium dendrites. Here, we report the synthesis of a long-life Li ion O2 battery (LIOB) consisting of an anode made from pre-lithiated aluminum (Al) foil and a Li2O2-preloaded oxygen cathode, which are both commercially available. The assembled LIOB delivers an excellent specific reversible capacity of 1000mAhg−1 carbon for over 100 cycles at 100mAg−1 and a maximum specific energy density of 1178Whkg−1. The pre-lithiated Al foil functions as both the anode and current collector, and the stable solid electrolyte interphase layer formed on anode during pre-lithiation greatly improves the cyclic stability. In view of abundance and availability of the cathode and anode materials, the assembly strategy developed here can offer a promising route to large-scale fabrication of LIOBs for real-world applications.