Monodisperse cadmium sulfide nanotubes (CdS NTs) with a diameter of 100 nm were synthesized on indium-doped tin oxide glass substrates using chemical bath deposition and self-sacrificial template technique. This CdS thin film was characterized by transmission electron microscope, scanning electron microscope. X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV-vis spectrophotometer. This film gave a short circuit photocurrent of 4.4 mA/cm(2), an open circuit photovoltage of 0.75 V. a fill factor of 0.49, and an overall conversion efficiency of 1.29% under a simulated solar illumination of 100 mW/cm(2). All these photoelectrochemical properties of the films were dependent on the microstructure of the nanotubes and the thickness of the film. A facile and efficient way to prepare CdS-based photoelectrodes for photoelectrochemical cells was provided in this report. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.