Spherical Ni x Co(1−2x)Mn x (OH)2 (x =0.333, 0.4, 0.416, 0.45) precursors with Co concentration-gradient were prepared by co-precipitation from sulfate solutions using NaOH and NH4OH as precipitation and complexing agents. Then, well-ordered spherical LiNi x Co(1−2x)Mn x O2 was synthesized by sintering the mixture of as-prepared precursor and Li2CO3 at 950°C for 16h in air. EDXS results indicated that the concentration of cobalt decreased gradually inside out of the spherical precursor particle, and it was uniform in spherical LiNi x Co(1−2x)Mn x O2 particle obtained by sintering with Li2CO3. According to Rietveld refinement of XRD patterns, the LiNi x Co(1−2x)Mn x O2 synthesized from Co gradient precursor showed lower degree of cation disorder than that prepared from conventional precursor. The well-ordered LiNi x Co(1−2x)Mn x O2 from Co gradient precursor delivered much better high-rate capability than conventional one. The decrease of cation disorder of LiNi x Co(1−2x)Mn x O2 is attributed to the cobalt-rich in core of the precursor particles. Both abundant Co3+ and Li+ can restrain cation mixing effectively. Since Li+ needs long time to reach core during calcining, cobalt-rich in core of the precursor particle is very important for restraining cation mixing. Concentration-gradient precursor is helpful to prepare well-ordered LiNi x Co(1−2x)Mn x O2 with good high-rate capability, and the total content of expensive and toxic cobalt does not need to be increased.