Three-dimensional gold mesoflowers (3D-AuMFs) were prepared through a facile and one-step homogeneous solution route with the assistance of citrate as capping agent. The effects of the reaction temperature and the amount of citrate on the morphology of 3D-AuMFs were investigated, and a possible mechanism for the formation of 3D-AuMFs was proposed. The as-prepared AuMFs exhibited excellent catalytic activity toward 4-nitrophenol reduction and relatively high enhancement of surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) when using 4-mercaptopyridine as a model molecule. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.