Compared to conventional methods, a simple route is offered for synthesis of BaCO(3) with CO(2) and least energy consumption. And the morphology of BaCO(3) was tuned by controlling reaction conditions. The Xray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) were employed to characterize the products, the results showed that the products with various morphologies had the same crystal phase and growth direction. However, the distinct difference of the prepared products were determined by Raman and UV-vis spectra, showing shape-dependent optical properties. The results provide a useful model system for investigating the shape-dependent optical properties of carbonate nanocrystals. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.