Surface deterioration occurs more easily in nickel-rich cathode materials with the increase of nickel content. To simultaneously pre-vent deterioration of active cathode materials and improve the electrochemical performance of the nickel-rich cathode material, the surface of nickel-rich LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode material is decorated with the stable structure and conductive Li3PO4 by a facile method. The LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2–1wt％, 2wt％, 3wt％Li 3PO4 samples deliver a high-capacity retention of more than 85％ after 100 cycles at 1 C under a high voltage of 4.5 V. The effect of different coating amounts (0–5wt％) for the LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode is analyzed in detail. Results show that 2wt％ coating of Li3PO4 gives better performance compared to other coating concentrations. Detailed analysis of the structure of the samples during the charge?discharge process is performed by in-situ X-ray diffraction. It is indicated that the modification for LiNi0.6Co0.2Mn0.2O2 cathode could protect the well-layered structure under high voltages. In consequence, the electrochemical performance of modified samples is greatly improved.