The synthesis of inorganic materials with special morphologies with the assistance of biological molecules is a potential development in the field of controllable growth and assembly of nanomaterials. In this paper, BaF2 nanocrystals in patterns of well-defined linear and erythrocyte-shaped structure were synthesized with the assistance of Escherichia coli DNA. Morphology and the arrangement of BaF2 particles on DNA were controllable by altering the reaction condition. Square nanoparticles arranged in linear chains were gained with the assistance of normal DNA; while, erythrocyte-shaped BaF2 nanospheres were synthesized with the assistance of denatured DNA. Besides, the influences of solvent, reaction temperature, concentration of reactants and the heating time on the morphology of the BaF2 particles were studied. (C) 2017 The Chemical Industry and Engineering Society of China, and Chemical Industry Press. All rights reserved.