The applications such as electric vehicles require a high energy density in lithium-ion batteries. LiNi0.9Co0.1O2 has attracted much attention, which has a potential to be next-generation cathode material due to its high specific capacity and reasonable cost. However, some related issues such as Li/Ni mixing, microcracks and surface side reactions caused by H2-H3 phase transformation result in a poor cycling stability for LiNi0.9Co0.1O2. In this paper, the microstructures of LiNi0.9Co0.1O2 by W6+ doping were regulated by an effective method to adjust the surface energy of the primary particles and transform the disordered and irregular-shape primary particles into the well-ordered radially-aligned elongated shape particles. This microstructure feature can suppress the stress accumulation and the formation of micro-cracks in LiNi0.9Co0.1O2, and provide abundant diffusion channels for Li+, thus improving the cycling stability and rate performance of LiNi0.9Co0.1O2 cathode materials. The discharge capacities of 1% (in mole fraction) W-doped LiNi0.9Co0.1O2 are 231.2 mA·h/g at 0.1 C and 213.3 mA·h/g at 0.5 C, respectively, with a high capacity retention of 93% after 150 cycles. This microstructure regulation strategy provides an effective approach for improving the cycling stability of LiNi0.9Co0.1O2 Ni-rich cathode materials.