A simple hydrothermal method is developed for the synthesis of high-quality, water-soluble, and near-infrared (NIR)-emitting type-II core/shell CdTe/CdSe quantum dots (QDs) by employing thiol-capped CdTe QDs as core templates and CdCl2 and Na2SeO3 as shell precursors. Compared with the original CdTe core QDs, the core/shell CdTe/CdSe QDs exhibit an obvious red-shifted emission, whose color can be tuned between visible and NIR regions (620-740 nm) by controlling the thickness of the CdSe shell. The photoluminescence quantum yield (PL QY) of CdTe/CdSe QDs with an optimized thickness of the CdSe shell can reach up to 44.2% without any post-preparative treatment. Through a thorough study of the core/shell structure by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), the as-prepared CdTe/CdSe QDs demonstrate good monodispersity, hardened lattice structure and excellent photostability, offering a great potential for biological application. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.