MnO2 nanoparticles are in situ grown on the Ni mesh as cathode material for Li-air batteries. With this method, catalysts are directly connected to the current collector without the addition of carbon materials and binders, thus eliminating the influence of carbon additives and thus improving the electrical connection with the Ni mesh. The Ni surface is fully coated with a layer of catalysts in the form of nanospheres with numerous wrinkles, which functions as reaction sites during the charge/discharge process. The MnO 2/Ni composite cathode delivers highly reversible cyclic performance for up to 50 cycles. Evaluation using various characterization tools indicates that Li2O2 is the main reaction product formed on the cathode surface after a discharge process, which is decomposed after a full cycle to confirm the effectiveness of MnO2 catalysts. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.