CoO nanocrystals with tunable particle sizes were prepared by thermal decomposition of cobalt(II) acetate in different long-chain alkyl amines. These alkyl amines strongly affect the coordination of the amine group to the metal atoms and the metal-amine interaction, thereby mediating the eventual particle sizes in the condensation process. Moreover, CoO nanocrystals were applied for synthesis of supported catalyst, and exhibited higher catalytic activity in Fischer-Tropsch reaction, demonstrating that nanocrystals are active precursor. The TOF of CO on CoAl-n catalyst obtained from CoO nanocrystals is similar to 1.5 times higher than that on conventional catalyst with the same particle size. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.