Nearly monodisperse CdSe quantum dots with blue emission are obtained through an oxidation approach, in which CdSe particles can be etched into smaller ones. During the oxidation process, CdSe with yellow emission (546 nm) can be rapidly oxidized to blue emission (466 nm) due to its incompletely crystallized structure. Further oxidation results in the slow blue-shift of the photoluminescence peak to 433nm. The quantum fluorescence efficiency of CdSe with blue emission is about 10%, and surface-trap emission becomes evident when the PL peak of CdSe reaches the blue-violet region, since the surface atom ratio increases. This oxidation route offers a simple and mild way to get extremely small CdSe quantum dots.