This Feature Article provides a brief overview of the latest development and emerging new synthesis solution strategies for II-VI semiconducting nanomaterials and inorganic-organic semiconductor hybrid materials. Research on the synthesis of II-VI semiconductor nanomaterials and inorganic-organic hybrid semiconducting materials via solution strategies has made great progress in the past few years. A variety of II-VI semiconductor and a new family of [MQ(L)(0.5)] (M = Mn, Zn, Cd; Q = S, Se, Te; L = diamine, deta) hybrid nanostructures can be generated using solution synthetic routes. Recent advances have demonstrated that the solution strategies in pure solvent and a mixed solvent can not only determine the crystal size, shape, composition, structure and assembly properties, but also the crystallization pathway, and act as a matrix for the formation of a variety of different II-VI semiconductor and hybrid nanocomposites with diverse morphologies. These II-VI semiconductor nanostructures and their hybrid nanocomposites display obvious quantum size effects, unique and tunable optical properties.