A sol-gel method using Ti(OC 4 H 9 ) 4 , LiCH 3-COO·2H 2 O, and La(NO 3 ) 3 ·6H 2 O as starting materials and ethyl acetoacetate as chelating agent to prepare pure and lanthanum (La)-doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 is reported. The structure and morphology of the active materials characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy analysis indicate that doping with a certain amount of La 3+ does not affect the structure of Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 , but can restrain the agglomeration of the particles during heat treatment. The electrochemical properties measured by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge-discharge cycling tests show that La-doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 presents a much improved electrochemical performance due to a decrease in charge transfer resistance. At current densities of 1 and 5 C, the La-doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 exhibits excellent reversible capacities of 156.16 and 150.79 mAhg −1 , respectively. The excellent rate capability and good cycling performance make La-doped Li 4 Ti 5 O 12 a promising anode material for lithium-ion batteries in energy storage systems.