Novel carbon micro-rods with regular and uniform shape have been synthesized in high yield by magnesium acetateand n-butylalcohol as the precursors via a solvothermal route. The resulting products were characterized by combined techniques including X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Raman spectroscopy. The carbon micro-rods exhibit diameters ranging from 500 nm to 1 mu m and up to 5-10 mu M in length. We have found that the optimal reaction conditions for the growth of the carbon micro-rods were 500 degrees C and 12 h. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.