Cadmium hydroxide (Cd(OH)(2)) and cadmium oxide (CdO) nano and micro crystals were synthesized in ethanol-water medium using cadmium foil both as a source and substrate under solvothermal condition. Different concentrations of ammonium hydroxide, hydrazine hydrate, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide were added to study the structural and morphological variations in the products. Synthesis was carried out at different temperatures to study the growth stages of the nano/microstructures. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The as-prepared Cd(OH)(2) products were transformed to CdO by thermal treatment in air. The possible growth mechanism for the formation of different morphologies at different basic medium has been proposed. The optical absorption measurement was carried out to determine the values of the band gap of CdO. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.