ZnSe spheres with diameters of about 1 mum have been prepared via a rapid polyol process by refluxing the raw materials in ethylene glycol at 195degreesC for only 1 h; the X-ray diffraction pattern indicated that the as-prepared sample is cubic ZnSe phase. The products were also characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, FT-IR, Raman and field-emission scanning electron microscope procedures. And studies found that the reaction time had great influence on the morphology of the products. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.