Hematite solid spindles and hollow spindles have been selectively synthesized by a template-free, economical hydrothermal method, using FeCl(3)center dot 6H(2)O as the starting materials and NaOH as the homogeneous precipitant. XRD analyses indicated that the products consisted of alpha-Fe(2)O(3). SEM and TEM measurements showed that the morphologies of products were in the shape of solid spindles and hollow spindles, respectively. A possible formation process based on the nucleation-oriented aggregation-recrystallization mechanism is proposed. Moreover, the as-prepared hollow spindle-like alpha-Fe(2)O(3) exhibits a good response and reversibility to some organic gas, such as 2-propanol and acetone. Compared with other hematite nanostructures, the porous hollow hematite spindles show outstanding performance in gas sensing due to their large surface area and porous hollow structure. Because of the unique porous hollow structures of the samples, the photocatalytic property of the spindle-like alpha-Fe(2)O(3) was also investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.