Nanocrystalline LiMn 3+ TiO 4 (~10 nm, annealed in air at 500°C) and LiFe 3+ TiO 4 (3~5 nm, annealed in argon at 600°C) were synthesized by a sol-gel route, and their structural changes upon Li + extraction and reinsertion were investigated. To determine accurately the phase compositions of the nanosized materials, we used combined techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD) Rietveld refinement and synchrotron pair distribution function (PDF) analysis. Partial lithium from LiMTiO 4 (M = Mn, Fe) can be extracted on charging to 4.8 V, leading to Li-deficient Li 1-x MTiO 4 with a phase splitting into two spinel phases. Over subsequent cycling between 1.5 and 4.8 V, more than one Li + can be reversibly reinserted into the framework, resulting in a Li-rich Li x+y MTiO 4 . Upon lithiation, Li 1+y MnTiO 4 undergoes a reversible spinel/rock-salt phase transition together with the formation of certain amounts of tetragonal phase, whereas LiFeTiO 4 maintains a spinel structure.