There are provided an electrode material for a lithium secondary battery
which comprises alloy particles comprising silicon as a major component
and having an average particle diameter of 0.02 .mu.m to 5 .mu.m, wherein
the size of a crystallite of the alloy is not less than 2 nm but no more
than 500 nm and an intermetallic compound containing at least tin is
dispersed in a silicon phase and an electrode material for a lithium
secondary battery which comprises alloy particles comprising silicon as a
major component and having an average particle diameter of 0.02 .mu.m to
5 .mu.m, wherein the size of a crystallite of the alloy is not less than
2 nm but no more than 500 nm and an at least one intermetallic compound
containing at least one element selected from the group consisting of
aluminum, zinc, indium, antimony, bismuth and lead is dispersed in a
silicon phase. Thereby, an electrode material for a lithium secondary
battery, an electrode structure comprising the electrode material and a
secondary battery comprising the electrode structure are provided in
which a drop in capacity due to repeated charging/discharging is small,
and the charge/discharge cycle life is improved.