In order to meet the requirements for the device design of radiation detectors, CdZnTe (or Cd1-xZnxTe) crystals grown by Vertical Bridgman Method often need subsequent annealing to increase their resistivity. The nature of this treatment is a diffusion process. Thus, it is meaningful to relate the change of resistivity to the diffusion parameters. A model correlating resistivity and conduction type of CdZnTe with the main diffusion parameter-diffusion coefficient-is put forward in this paper. Combining the model with the analysis of our experimental data, D-Cd = 1.464 x 10(-10), 1.085 x 10(-11) and 4.167 x 10(-13) cm(2)/s are the values of Cd self-diffusion coefficient in Cd0.9Zn0.1Te at 1073, 973 and 873 K, respectively. The data coincide closely with the Cd self-diffusion coefficient in CdTe provided by different authors [E.D. Jones, N.M. Stewart, Self-diffusion of cadmium in cadmium telluride, J. Crystal Growth 84 (1987) 289-294; P.M. Borsenberger, D.A. Stevenson, J. Phys. Chem. Solids 29 (1968) 1277; R.C. Whelan, D. Shaw, in: D.G. Thomas (Ed.), II-VI Semiconductor Compounds, Benjamin, New York, 1967, p. 451]. With the data, the effects of annealing time on the change of resistivity and conduction type for Cd0.9Zn0.1Te wafers, which are annealed in saturated Cd vapor at 1073, 973 and 873 K, were simulated, and good consistency was found. This work suggests an alternative way to obtain the diffusion coefficient in semiconductor materials and also enables ones to analyze the diffusion process quantitatively and predict the annealing results. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.