In this paper, we report the low-temperature synthesis of metal tungstate, MWO4 (M = Ca, Sr, Ba, Cd, Zn, Pb) nanocrystallites. By reaction between metal chloride and sodium tungstate in ethylene glycol at 180 degreesC for 10 h, well-crystallized tungstate particles were successfully obtained. Characterization by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows that the product powders consist of nanosize particles. Photolummescence measurement reveals that the as-obtained CaWO4, CdWO4, and PbWO4 show excitonic peaks at about 430, 500 and 500 nm, respectively. The solvent and reaction conditions are important in the formation of the products. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.