The characteristics of a Li-glass scintillation detector have been studied in order to determine an optimum design for a neutron time-of-flight detector for use in high resolution total cross-section measurements.A light-tight box was used for comparative tests of light collection geometry for the Li-glass scintillator on a fast photo-multiplier.Effective discrimination against γ-background is shown to be dependent on a knowledge of the nature of the scintillator pulses. This also determines the system required to achieve the best timing resolution. A simple test circuit is described which makes it possible to set up or reset the timing system and the important discrimination levels using a 60Co γ-source. A time resolution of 3.4 ns (fwhm) was measured for the Li-glass detector.The application of the detector to the time-of-flight spectrometer is discussed together with measurements of the resolution and the neutron energy spectrum.