A simple but novel mixed surfactant route was designed to fabricate noble metal (An, Ag) nanocrystals with novel dendritic structures in mixed cetyltgrimethlammonium bromide and sodium dodecyl sulfate solutions. The obtained dendrites have interesting morphologies that consist of a long central backbone and parallel symmetry rather than randomly ramified secondary branches. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, and field emission scanning electron microscopy and selected area electronic diffraction. The purity and surface composition were measured using X-ray photoelectron spectra. The influence of surfactants on the formation of dendrites has been investigated in detail and it is found that surfactant with a proper concentration present in the reaction system is the key factor for the formation of dendritic nanostructures. A possible formation mechanism of dendrites is discussed. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.