Cycle-life of the mixed silicon–graphite composite electrode, with a specific capacity of about 800mAh/g, for lithium-ion batteries has significantly been improved by using a Cu current collector with a properly modified surface morphology. Especially, it is found that the electrode slurry-coated on a nodule-type foil exhibits a quite good capacity retention. The enhanced cyclability was attributed to the formation of the micro-columnar structure in the composite electrode layer during charge–discharge cycling. It is suggested that if further optimized current collector system is used with a high-performance Si-based active material, better cycle performance is expected.