The present invention provides a positive active material for a secondary lithium battery, a method of preparing the positive active material, and a secondary lithium battery including the positive active material, wherein the positive active material includes a lithium metal composite oxide core represented by the following Chemical Formula 1, and a coating layer including a fluorine compound and positioned at a shell of the lithium metal composite oxide core.
LiwNixCoyMn1-x-y-zMzO2 [Chemical Formula 1]
(1.2≦w≦1.5, 0<x<1, 0≦y<1, 0.5≦1-x-y-z, and M is at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Al, Mg, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cr, Ag, Ca, Na, K, In, Ga, Ge, V, Mo, Nb, Si, Ti, and Zr).