Abstract A solution-phase route has been developed for the synthesis of cobalt phosphide nanorods, which have been characterized by techniques of X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron microscope (SEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS). The microscope analysis reveals that the nanorods have width of about 10 nm and length of 200–300 nm, which exhibit paramagnetic behavior down to 2 K, determined by a commercial superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer.