Needle shaped nano-copper 90 nm in length and 3 nm in diameter was synthesized in microwave-assisted water system in which copper acetate, ascorbic acid and surfactant made by us are used as precursor, reductant, and modifiers, respectively. The as-prepared nano-copper was characterized by XRD, TEM and TG-DSC. The epoxy resin coating exhibited a better excellent electrical conductivity added to as-prepared needle shaped nano-copper, rho(V) = 3.4 x 10 (6) Omega m than that of the coating added to sphere nano-copper, rho(V) = 8.9 x 10 (6) Omega m. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.