A facile one-pot method to fabricate photoluminescent carbon dots (CDs) was developed by the hydrothermal treatment of amino acids at mild temperatures. Derived from three different kinds of amino acids including serine, histidine, and cystine, the resultant CDs show uniform spherical morphology with the diameters in the range of similar to 2.5-4.7 nm. These amino acid derived CDs also manifest excellent photoluminescence behavior with the quantum yields (QYs) of similar to 7.5% and high stability. More importantly, this method provides the opportunity to modify the sizes, structures, and photoluminescent behavior of CDs by the utilization of diversified amino acids with different structural characteristics. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.