CdTe nanorods with diameter of similar to 150 nm and length of similar to 1 mu m are formed via a self-assembly process of CdTe nanoparticles using thermal chemistry method. Individual nanorod is usually composed of nanoparticles stacking along the rod growth direction, and multiple twins are observed both along the rod's growth and radial directions. The effect of the substrate-to-source distance, evaporation temperature and growth pressure on the products morphology is investigated, which reveals the nanoparticle surface energy reduction and the limited quantity of the evaporated species serve as the driving force for the self-assembly process. A "two-orientation" growth model is proposed for the growth pattern. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.