The stearate-capped CdTe quantum dots (QDs) have been first prepared via direct reaction of cadmium stearate with Te powder in N-oleoylmorpholine solvent, which was a kind of clean, air-stable and conveniently synthesized acylamide, and can readily dissolve precursors cadmium stearate and Te powder at a relative low temperature. The as-prepared CdTe QDs exhibited size-dependent optical properties, steep absorbance edge and narrow photoluminescence full width at half maximum. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction revealed that the highly monodisperse CdTe QDs were of regular spherical morphology with zinc blende crystal structure displaying mean sizes of about 4 nm. The energy dispersed spectrometry measurement indicated the presence of Cd and Te, with the Cd:Te ratio being close to 1:1. Fourier transform infrared transmission spectra confirmed the existence of stearate on the CdTe QDs surfaces. The experimental results also demonstrated that the stearate-capped CdTe QDs had an unexpected good stability. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.