Chromium oxide nanopowders were successfully synthesized using Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as a chelating agent. The effects of process parameters such as pH and temperature were investigated. Cr2O3 nanopowders were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) surface area measurements, differential thermal analysis (DTA) and Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The synthesized nanopowders were non-agglomerated and spherical. The surface area of Cr2O3 nanopowders was 81.05 m(2)/g. This is greater than one obtained by citrate gel method. The conditional formation constants for various species of EDTA were calculated. Furthermore, the major equations of the production of chromium-EDTA were derived. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.