A negative electrode of the present invention has an active material layer
composed of an intermetallic compound on a collector. The intermetallic
compound is capable of occluding/desorbing lithium and contains at least
one kind of element A selected from Sn, In, Ge, Ga, Pb, Al, Sb, and Si,
and an element X that does not substantially react with Li. In the
negative electrode, a ratio I.sub.b/I.sub.a of highest peak intensities
I.sub.a and I.sub.b of X-ray diffraction peaks derived from the
intermetallic compound and the element A is 0.1 or less. By configuring a
non-aqueous secondary battery using the above-mentioned negative
electrode, the charging/discharging efficiency and cycle characteristics
of a thin film electrode used for the negative electrode of the
non-aqueous secondary battery are enhanced.