Li₂ZnTi₃O₈ (LZTO) anodes of lithium?ion batteries have been prepared by a sol?gel method. The effects of the calcination temperature and time on the electrochemical performance have been studied for LZTO in detailed. The optimum calcination temperature and time are 700 ℃ and 3 h, respectively. On the basis of the optimum preparation process, citric acid as the chelating agent has been introduced into the synthesis to modify LZTO. When the molar ratio of metal ions to citric acid is 2.00∶1.50, the obtained product is denoted as LZTO?2/1.50, which has small particle size, good dispersion, and then shows good electrochemical performance. The discharge specific capacity is 203.6 mA·h/g after 300 cycles at the current density of 0.5 A /g for LZTO?2/1.50.