This paper demonstrated the large-scale fabrication of metastable single crystal VO2(B) nanoribbons with a home-made vanadium (IV, V) compound as a precursor. The influence factors on the morphology and a primary formation mechanism were presumably studied. Furthermore, the capability fabricating other vanadium-based 1D nanostructures was also explored from the precursor. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.