In this work, in situ study of commercial 18650 NMC (LiNi0.33Mn0.33Co0.33O2) cells under over-discharge charge conditions (100%, 110%, and 120%) has been performed. Both voltage and cell skin temperature evolutions were simultaneously monitored in situ during discharge process. The results show that there is a clear correlation between the voltage and temperature. For the NMC cell under 120% over-discharge condition, the cell failed after only 1 cycle. The voltage dropped to negative values at the end of the discharge. The skin temperature at the end of discharge increased dramatically to 73 ºC, indicating strong exothermal reactions happened inside the cell. For the 110% over-discharged cell, the cell failed after 10 cycles. The voltage at the end of the discharge process became negative after the 1st cycle. The cell skin temperature increased from 23.2 ºC to 61.7 ºC. The peak temperature in each cycle kept increasing until failure. These implies the micro short circuits were developed during the charge-discharge process. The failed components were examined by SEM/EDX and XRD. The results show substantial aluminum exists inside the failed separators. The results suggest that during the over-discharge process, the alumina