As important semiconductors, I-III-VI2 compounds have attracted wide attention, among which the wurtzite structured CuInS2 has been the research focus due to its metastable phase. In this paper, the wurtzite CuInS2 hollow-sphere films have been successfully prepared on copper substrate in a self-designed solvothermal detached system. The films of Cu(OH)(2) one-dimensional nanostructure arrays and thioacetamide were used as the precursors and triethylene glycol was used as the solvent. Experiments showed that the amount of indium trichloride played a determinative role in the final morphology of the products. Meanwhile, the one-dimensional nanostructure arrays and the detached solvothermal system have great influences on the crystal shape as well. Based on the experimental results, a possible formation mechanism for the CuInS2 hollow spheres was also proposed. The UV-Vis absorption spectrum showed a broad absorption over the entire visible light and extending into the near-infrared region and presented the band gap of 1.53 eV for the as-prepared wurtzite CuInS2, which indicates the potential applications in solar cells. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.