Hydroxyphenol compounds are often used as reductants in controlling the growth of nanoparticles. Herein, dopamine was used as an effective reductant in seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods (GNRs). The as-prepared GNRs (83 x 16 nm) were monodisperse and had a high degree of purity. The conversion ratio from gold ions to GNRs was around 80%. In addition, dopamine worked as an additive. At a very low concentration of hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB; 0.025 M), thinner and shorter GNRs (60 x 9 nm) were successfully prepared. By regulating the concentration of silver ions, CTAB, seeds, and reductant, GNRs with longitudinal surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peaks ranging from 680 to 1030 nm were synthesized. The growth process was tracked using UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, and it was found that a slow growth rate was beneficial to the formation of GNRs.