Rapidly and precisely selective growth of self-assembled nanoparticles using an electron-beam or optical exposure system with commercial chemically amplified resists was demonstrated. The required exposure dosage was less than 10 muC/cm(2) for patterning chemically amplified resists. By immersing the patterned resist sample in the nanoparticle colloidal solution, nanoparticles were selectively self-assembled on the (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane layer, which was partially covered by the patterned resist layer. The selective growth area can be performed from several hundred micrometers to sub-50 nm. This method has great potential to be used for rapidly selective growth of various nanoparticles or nanomaterials. (C) 2004 The Electrochemical Society.