Nanoribbons and monodispersed nanocrystals of CuBr have been prepared by a simple reaction between CuO suspension, NH2OH.HCl and KBr in the presence of deionized gelatin at 10 T. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and UV-vis absorption spectroscopy. The sizes of the monodispersed nanocrystals of CuBr were estimated by Debye-Scherrer formula according to XRD spectrum. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.