An environmentally friendly NaCl-H2O system was developed to prepare SrSiO3 nanostructures from commercially available raw materials, SrCO3 and amorphous SiO2 (alpha-SiO2), by a one-step solid state reaction at 600 degrees C for 2 h. The formation of SrSiO3 was accelerated by NaCl-H2O(v) system. The results demonstrate that both NaCl and H2O played vital roles to accelerate the formation of SrSiO3 nanostructures at lower temperature. NaCl was considered to enhance the diffusivity of starting materials and the rate of solid state reactions, and promote the crystallization of products at lower temperature. Additionally, two different phases of SrSiO3 (JPDS 00-032-1257) and SrSiO3 (JPDS 00-006-0415) were abtained without or with the addition of NaCl. Water vapor accelerated the decomposition of SrCO3, and absorbed water on the surface of solid materials dissolved NaCl to form an aqueous ionic liquid composed of Na and Cl ions, which was similar to a hydrothermal process, and further increased the diffusivity of components and reduced the reaction temperature. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.