Peony-like lead sulfide films were in situ fabricated on flexible lead foils for the first time. When only ethylenediamine was used as solvent, peony-like lead sulfide crystals were synthesized uniformly on a large scale. By changing the volume ratio of ethylenediamine to ethanol, lead sulfide films with cube-, rod- and flower-like morphologies were also obtained. Detail study indicated that ethylenediamine played a key role in the formation of the peony-like PbS films. The peony-like films with three-dimensional microstructures exhibited superior absorbance properties and might have potential applications in solar cells. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.