We report first the surface structure effect on the optical properties of organic nanocrystals. The 'emulsion' and the 'reprecipitation' methods were employed successfully for fabricating 9,10-bis(4-(N-carbazolyl)phenyl)anthracene (BCPA) nanocrystals, and were achieved to give nanocrystals having different surface morphology. The emission spectra of BCPA nanocrystals were strongly affected by the surface characteristics. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.