An in situ polymerization assisted fast sol–gel method was introduced to synthesize high performance Li 3 V 2 PO 4 /C (LVP/C) cathode material. The crystal structure, surface morphology and electrochemical performances of the LVP/C samples sintered at different temperatures were investigated. The composite sintered at 750°C exhibits the highest specific discharge capacity of 119.02mAhg −1 (440.35Whg −1 ) at 10C rate. The Li + diffusion coefficient ranges from 10 −6 to 10 −8 cm 2 s −1 based on different scanning rates and the electronic conductivity is about 10 −5 Scm −1 . For comparison, an ex situ polymerization method was also employed to obtain the LVP/C composite. A novel charge/discharge testing mode was designed to investigate the electrochemical behavior of the as-prepared LVP/C composite for practical application in electric vehicle cells. The obtained high power density and the special testing mode prove the LVP/C composite would be a promising candidate for the electric vehicle application and deserves further investigation.