The phosphides InP and GaP with a zinc blende structure are examined as anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. During discharge, X-ray diffraction phase analysis reveals the formation of Li-In/Li-Ga alloy and amorphous Li3P. On charge, lithium is extracted from both LixM (M = In, Ga) alloy and Li3P. InP shows a reversible capacity of ∼475 mAh g-1 in the voltage range between 0.2 and 1.5 V, whereas GaP exhibits poor capacity retention compared with that of InP. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.