Well-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of high quality were synthesized by pyrolysis of phenolic resin at 800 degrees C in anodic alumina oxide (AAO) pores under argon protection. The innocuous source materials and safe operational conditions permit this method to synthesize well-aligned CNTs in large-scale and low cost. The formation mechanism of the synthesized CNTs is also proposed in this work by a series of visual sketches and is proved with obvious evidence. Firstly, phenolic resin nanotubes form in the template pores through the evaporation of solvent. Heat treatment then transfers these tubes into CNTs. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.