Ni nanoparticles of controlled size in the range 30-100 nm were synthesized with polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP) and dodecylamine (DDA) as protecting agents through a microwave-assisted technique using ethylene glycol both as a reducing agent and a solvent. The morphology of Ni nanoparticles was controlled by the amount of DDA added in these systems. Particle size and size distribution were controlled by the concentration of metal source and the DDA to PVP ratio. The synthesized Ni nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscopy for particle size and morphology, and size distribution was calculated by Image J (TM) software. Experimental UV-Vis spectra of Ni nanoparticles matched with the calculated spectrum based on Mie's theory. The microwave-assisted polyol process was found to be faster than the conventional-polyol process in Ni nanoparticle synthesis and the former technique is expected to be cost-effective compared with the latter.