The mixed oxide, Li(Ni 1/3 Co 1/3 Mn 1/3 )O 2 , with the layer structure has been prepared by a one-pot method using the molten-salt mixture, LiNO 3 –LiCl at temperatures 750, 850 and 950°C in air. The compounds were characterized by a variety of techniques. As per Rietveld data, only 4.0 and 2.5% of ‘cation-mixing’ was observed in the compounds prepared at 850 and 950°C, respectively. Cyclic voltammetry with Li metal as counter electrode showed a clear indication of Ni 2+/4+ redox couple at ∼3.6–3.9V in all compounds. Charge–discharge cycling was carried out in the range 2.5–4.3, 2.5–4.4 and 2.5–4.5V versus Li at a current rate of 20 or 30mAg −1 . The fifth cycle discharge capacities varied from 125 to 145 (±5)mAhg −1 for the compounds prepared at 850 and 950°C. They exhibited excellent capacity-retention without noticeable capacity-fade till 50 cycles irrespective of the voltage cut-off.