The cycling stability of MnO₂ cathodes in aqueous zinc batteries is highly relied on Mn²⁺ additives in electrolytes. Herein, we demonstrate a voltage induced lattice contraction mechanism for α-MnO₂ to realize stable cycling in Mn²⁺ free electrolytes. Analysis reveals the accumulation of electrochemically inactive parts is mainly responsible for capacity decay when cycled with 1.8 V top voltage cut-off, whereas the contribution from irreversible dissolution of active material is smaller. With the extension of voltage limit to 2.2 V and a voltage hold process during the initial charge, the inactive parts are activated to undergo reversible two electron transfer reaction. Further studies suggest that high voltage induces the contraction of original lattice. It stabilizes entered structural water and enhances Mn release. Meanwhile, more oxygen vanacies are generated, which also leads to the weakening of Mn binding in the lattice. Therefore, MnO₂ achieves 323 mAh g⁻¹ capacity with 94.6% retention over 300 cycles (>1800 h) at 0.1 A g⁻¹ in the Mn²⁺ free electrolyte of 3 M ZnSO₄. This work provides an effective path to realize stable cycling of MnO₂ cathodes in zinc batteries.