The novel elliptic Pb(OH)Br microdiskettes were controllably synthesized by a simple sonochemical process. The structure characterizations of the rnicrodiskettes were investigated in detail by means of XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. The results indicate that the orthorhombic phase of Pb(OH)Br with good crystallinity can be obtained. Meanwhile, controlled experiments show that the concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) play an important role in the formation of the microdiskettes. Moreover, the ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorbance spectra and photoluminescence (PL) microdiskettes show their ultraviolet absorption and green emitting behavior, indicating that the elliptic Pb(OH)Br microdiskettes have great potential to be applied in luminescent and optoelectronic devices. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.