Spontaneous formation and efficient stabilization of gold nanoparticles with an average diameter of 7 similar to 20 nm from hydrogen tetrachloroaureate(III) hydrate (HAuCl(4)center dot 3H(2)O) were achieved in air-saturated aqueous poly(ethylene oxide) - poly(propylene oxide) - poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) block copolymer solutions at ambient temperature in the absence of any other reducing agent. The particle formation mechanism is considered here on the basis of the block copolymer concentration dependence of absorption spectra, the time dependence (kinetics) of AuCl4- reduction, and the block copolymer concentration dependence of particle size. The effects of block copolymer characteristics such as molecular weight (MW), PEO block length, PPO block length, and critical micelle concentration (cmc) are explored by examining several PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymers. Our observations suggest that the formation of gold nanoparticles from AuCl4- comprises three main steps: (1) reduction of metal ions by block copolymer in solution, (2) absorption of block copolymer on gold clusters and reduction of metal ions on the surface of these gold clusters, and (3) growth of metal particles stabilized by block copolymers. While both PEO and PPO blocks contribute to the AuCl4-reduction (step 1), the PEO contribution appears to be dominant. In step 2, the adsorption of block copolymers on the surface of gold clusters takes place because of the amphiphilic character of the block copolymer (hydrophobicity of PPO). The much higher efficiency of particle formation attained in the PEO-PPO-PEO block copolymer systems as compared to PEO homopolymer systems can be attributed to the adsorption and growth processes (steps 2 and 3) facilitated by the block copolymers. The size of the gold nanoparticles produced is dictated by the above mechanism; the size increases with increasing reaction activity induced by the block copolymer overall molecular weight and is limited by adsorption due to the amphiphilic character of the block copolymers.