CeVO4 powders with different morphologies were synthesized in basic media by surfactant-free hydrothermal process. The products were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). From the experimental results, it has been revealed that there is an optimal pH range (pH <= 12.0) for the fort-nation of pure CeV04 and the pH plays a key role in the formation of the products of different morphologies and sizes. Increasing pH from 9 to 10 causes the morphology transformation: irregular nanoparticles-nanorods. High pH (12.0 < pH < 14.0) resulted in the formation of CeVO4-CeO2 compounds. Gas sensing behavior of CeVO4 and CeVO4-CeO2 based materials to ethanol were firstly studied. The sensors based on these materials show different response to ethanol, wherein the response is the best when using CeVO4-CeO2 compounds as material. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.