A negative electrode for a lithium secondary cell having a collector composed of an electroconductive metal foil and, provided on the surface thereof, an active material layer containing active material particles containing silicon and/or a silicon alloy and a binder, characterized in that the binder has mechanical characteristics of a tensile strength of 50 N/mm2 or more, an elongation at break of 10% or more, a strain energy density of 2.5×10−3 J/mm3 or more and a coefficient of elasticity of 10000 N/mm2 or less, and preferably characterized in that the collector has mechanical characteristics of a tensile strength of 80 N/mm2 or more, a proportional limit 30 N/mm2 or more, an elongation at break of 1.0% or more and an elastic elongation limit of 0.03% or more.