In this paper, we report inverted pyramidal nanostructure based multi-crystalline silicon (mc-Si) solar cells with a high conversion efficiency of 18.62% in large size of 156 x 156 mm(2) wafers. The nanostructures were fabricated by metal assisted chemical etching process followed by a post nano structure rebuilding (NSR) solution treatment. With increasing NSR treatment time, the reflectance and the dimensions of micro oval pits were both influenced. Resulting from both the light trapping ability and passivation efficiency, 500 nm inverted pyramid structure exhibited an ideal solar cell performance. The best solar cell showed a low reflectivity of 3.29% and a 0.91 mA cm(-2) increase of short-circuit current density, and its efficiency was 0.45% higher than the acid textured solar cell. This technique presented a great potential to be a standard process for producing highly efficient me-Si solar cells in the future. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.