Gold nanotips fabrication with electrochemical etching has advantages of low cost, short processing time and easy operation, while the morphology control and related electrochemical etching mechanism remain to be explored. Through analyzing the cyclic voltammetry curves during the etching processes, it was found that HCl solution is more stable in fabricating nanotips as compared to KCl solution. The effects of electrolyte concentration on the etching process were also investigated. Based on the constant meniscus descending rate and radial etching rate, a model to explain the unique tip morphology formed at different electrolyte concentrations was established, which indicated that the cone angles of the tips gradually decreased with the increase of the HCl concentration, while the curvature radius was not sensitive to the concentration. This investigation demonstrated the controllability of tip cone angle during the etching process, which would be of great significance to low cost preparation and application of gold nanotips on the high-resolution detection of biological and medical molecules. [GRAPHICS] .