Novel coral-like boron nitride nanostructures were synthesized via a simple method in a quasi-static atmosphere of nitrogen at a pressure of about 0.5 MPa. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectrometer and nitrogen porosimetry. The results show that the obtained coral-like morphology is constructed by a main bamboo shaped nanotube stem and a large amount of h-BN crystalline flakes growing outward from it, and such nanostructures possess a specific surface area of 66 m(2)/g. A mechanism of the formation process of the coral-like BN nanostructures is also proposed. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.