Abstract Spherical Ni 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 (OH) 2 precursor with the concentration of Ni and Mn changed in opposite was prepared by co-precipitation. Then, well-ordered spherical LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 was synthesized by sintering the mixture of as-prepared precursor and LiOH⋅H 2 O first calcined at 550 °C for 4 h in air, followed at 820 °C for 12 h in flowing oxygen. Their structural and electrochemical properties were investigated using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), charge–discharge test, cyclic voltammetry ( C – V ) method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) test. The concentration–gradient material had a superior electrochemical performances compared to conventional homogeneous LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 material, demonstrated by the results of C – V and EIS. The results of charge and discharge test demonstrated that the concentration–gradient LiNi 0.6 Co 0.2 Mn 0.2 O 2 cathode material sintered at 820 °C delivered an initial discharge capacity of 174.3 mA h g −1 at 1 C rate between 2.8 and 4.3 V and more than 93.1% of that was retained after 100 cycles. Besides, this material also exhibited excellent rate capability and high voltage cut-off and temperature performance.