A nanoparticle growth model is developed to predict and guide the syntheses of monodisperse colloidal nanoparticles in the liquid phase. The model, without any a priori assumptions, is based on the Fick's law of diffusion, conservation of mass and the Gibbs-Thomson equation for crystal growth. In the limiting case, this model reduces to the same expression as the currently accepted model that requires the assumption of a diffusion layer around each nanoparticle. The present growth model bridges the two limiting cases of the previous model i.e. complete diffusion controlled and adsorption controlled growth of nanoparticles. Specifically, the results show that a monodispersion of nanoparticles can be obtained both with fast monomer diffusion and with surface reaction under conditions of small diffusivity to surface reaction constant ratio that results is growth 'focusing'. This comprehensive description of nanoparticle growth provides new insights and establishes the required conditions for fabricating monodisperse nanoparticles critical for a wide range of applications. (C) 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.