A facile polyol approach has been developed for large-scale synthesis of water-soluble Na2SiF6 nanotubes and nanospindles in a controlled manner with polyacrylic acid (PAA) as a surfactant. We found that the concentration of PAA plays a critical role in controlling the morphology of the Na2SiF6 nanostructures because this parameter determines the shape of PAA micelles formed in aqueous solution. As expected, the Na2SiF6 nanotubes and nanospindles exhibit wide applications as a template for synthesis of other nanostructures owing to their water-soluble properties. (c) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ltd.