We have successfully controlled the size and shape of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) through a one-step bio-assisted procedure by using bovine serum albumin (BSA) protein as both reducing and stabilizing agent. We found that the growing process of GNPs can be directly manipulated by simply controlling the BSA concentration in solution and the reaction temperature. The GNPs formation was followed both experimentally by UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and theoretically by finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulations. The surface plasmon resonance of as-prepared GNPs suits the needs of many biological applications. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.