In this paper, the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) growth of indium nitride (InN) was systematically investigated. With In and NH3 as the starting materials, and Au as the catalyst, the effect of the CVD growth parameters, such as the growth temperature, gas. flow rates, catalyst type and catalyst thickness, In amount, and the distance between the substrates and In source, were all studied. All these parameters were found to have an influence on the morphology of InN nanostructures. It is found that the highest growth temperature is 550 degrees C. Larger gas. flow rates with higher NH3 ratio favors the growth of InN nanorods. Au and Ag are the successful catalysts for InN nanorods. Thicker catalyst thickness results in InN nanorods with larger polyhedral ends. Both cubic and hexagonal InN are observed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.