We have synthesized InP nanoparticles using laser ablation in ethanol using 532 nm and 266 nm pulses of Q-switched Nd: YAG laser operating at repetition rate of 10 Hz. The average particle size estimated from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is 4-10 nm for 532 nm and 2-3 nm for 266 nm pulses. The optical transmission spectra show large blue shift form nanoparticles prepared with 266 nm laser pulses and confirm the size reduction compared to nanoparticles prepared with 532 nm laser pulses. The structural phases determined from high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and micro-Raman measurements are found to depend on the wavelength of the laser used in the ablation. The measured binding energies from X-ray photoemission spectra are in agreement with values corresponding to InP and oxidized indium. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.