This Letter describes a simple, aqueous-phase route to synthesize Ag nanoplates with enhanced lateral sizes via a heat-up method. By slowly heating an aqueous solution containing both AgNO3 and PVP, we were able to produce Ag nanoplates with an average lateral size larger than 1 mu m. Electron microscopy analyses revealed that in the heat-up synthesis, Ag nanoplates could grow into large sizes due to continued generation and deposition of Ag atoms during the heat-up procedure. Our results suggest that it is possible to enhance anisotropic growth of metal nanostructures by using a simple heat-up process. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.