A series of Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C cathode materials with different morphologies were successfully prepared by controlling temperatures using maleic acid as carbon source via a simple sol–gel reaction method. The Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C nanorods synthesized at 700 °C with diameters of about 30–50 nm and lengths of about 800 nm show the highest initial discharge capacity of 179.8 and 154.6 mA h g −1 between 3.0 and 4.8 V at 0.1 and 0.5 C, respectively. Even at a discharge rate of 0.5 C over 50 cycles, the products still can deliver a discharge capacity of 140.2 mA h g −1 in the potential region of 3.0–4.8 V. The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to one-dimensional nanorod structure and uniform particle size distribution. All these results indicate that the resulting Li 3 V 2 (PO 4 ) 3 /C is a very strong candidate to be a cathode in a next-generation Li-ion battery for electric-vehicle applications.