The synthesis of CdS nanoparticles was widely studied for their potential usage in the field of optics. The solvothermal synthesis with ethylene glycol as the solvent was studied in this paper. The cadmium acetate and thioacetamide were used as the cadmium source and sulfide source. It was observed under TEM that the crystallites are almost spherical. The x-ray and electron diffraction results show that the CdS nanocrystallites belong to cubic phase. The sizes of the crystallites were determined by XRD and UV absorption to be 4 to 9 nm depending on the amount and molar ratio of the reactants. The photoluminescence properties of CdS nanocrystallites in solution and in solid state were investigated.