ZnSe nanoneedles were successfully synthesized with the assistance of NiSe through a simple chemical vapor deposition method for the first time. The ZnSe nanoneedles, with the average bottom diameters of 400 nm and the lengths of more than 50 pm, decrease in diameters from bottom to tip. The diameter of the nanoneedle can be controlled by the size of NiSe source. The products were also characterized by XRD, HRTEM, EDS and PL spectrum. The ZnSe nanoneedles are of a single crystal in nature with high crystalline quality, and < 111 > is the preferential growth direction. A strong emission band around 438.9 nm is observed at room temperature, being attributed to the excitonic emission. A combined mechanism of the redox effect and the VLS mechanism is proposed to understand the growth of ZnSe nanoneedles. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.