A simple approach is discovered for the synthesis of Cu2O films with periodic dimension transfer from sphere, rod to cone by chemical bath deposition technique. This two-step process consists of first immersing substrates into a copper thiosulfate solution followed by a subsequent dip in NaOH. The size and morphology of Cu2O films can be controlled by tuning the concentration of NaOH solution and adjusting immersion cycles (deposition times) Three-dimensional sphere, one-dimensional rod and three-dimensional cone Cu2O films can be periodically formed with the increase of the immersion cycles when the concentration of NaOH solution is less than 1.2 M and the immersion cycles are more than 10 The growth mechanism for such periodic pattern transfer of Cu2O films has been investigated and proposed. The photovoltaic characteristics of Cu2O films demonstrate that rod-like and cone-like Cu2O films have better photoelectric property than sphere-like Cu2O film under visible-light irradiation This facile method may be used for the synthesis of other metal oxides films with special structures and good properties. (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.