High surface nanosized rutile TiO2 is prepared via a sol–gel method from an ethylene glycol-based titanium-precursor in the presence of a non-ionic surfactant, at pH 0. Its electrochemical behaviour has been investigated at low temperature using two different potential windows. Typically, the potential window of the rutile system is 1–3V but the use of an enlarged potential window (0.1–3V), leads to an excellent reversible capacity of 341mAhg−1 which is comparable to graphite anodes. The electrochemical performance was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic techniques at temperatures ranging from −40 to 20°C. Nanosized TiO2 exhibits excellent rate capability (341mAhg−1 at 20°C, 197mAhg−1 at −10°C, 138mAhg−1 at −20°C, and 77mAhg−1 at −40°C at a C/5 rate) and good cycling stability. The superior low-temperature electrochemical performance of nanosized rutile TiO2 may make it a promising candidate as lithium-ion battery material.