The SnCo1-xYx/C (x=0, 0.03, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5) anode materials for Li-ion batteries were synthesized by solid-state sintering followed by ball milling. The influences of Y contents on structures and electrochemical properties of the materials were investigated. Structure analyses reveal that SnCo/C consists of CoSn phase and carbon black. For SnCo1-xYx/C samples, CoSn2 phase appears when x is 0.03. When Y content is higher, a little amount of Sn and Y2O3 forms. Nano-crystalline CoSn and CoSn2 phase co-exist homogeneously in internal particles. A small amount of Y dissolve into CoSn and CoSn2 phase and exist in their grain boundaries and phase boundaries, and most of other Y reacts with O to form Y2O3 distributing at edges of particles. Electrochemical analysis shows that with Y content increasing, the discharge capacity and cycle performance of SnCo1-xYx/C both increase firstly and then decrease. As x is 0.1, the discharge capacity is 378 mA·h/g, close to the maximum, and the cycle performance reaches to the maximum that the capacity retention is above 87.6% after 50 cycles.