In this study, VO2 rods with a rectangular cross-section have successfully been synthesized using a simple hydrothermal route in the absence of templates or catalysts. The synthesized rods were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron micrographs (TEM) measurements. It was found that the rods are single crystal and the size ranges from several tens nanometers to several micrometers. Furthermore, a possible model, nucleating-growing-splitting, was proposed for the formation of rods with a rectangular cross-section. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.