A new compound, dilithium aluminium pentaborate, Li(2)AlB(5)O(10), has been synthesized by solid-state reaction and its structure determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. This compound is composed of [B(5)O(10)](5-) groups linked by AlO(4) tetrahedra. The [B(5)O(10)](5-) group consists of two hexagonal B-O rings perpendicular to each other connected by tetracoordinated boron. All the B-O rings in this structure can be divided into two groups, with one group approximately parallel and the other perpendicular to the c axis.