A facile Cu-cysteine precursor templated route for the synthesis of Cu 2 S nanowires, dendritic-like and flowerlike nanostructures is reported. The Cu-cysteine precursors are prepared through the reaction between Cu 2+ , l-cysteine and ethanolamine at room temperature, and the morphologies of Cu-cysteine precursors can be controlled by adjusting the molar ratio of l-cysteine to Cu 2+ . The Cu-cysteine precursors are used as both templates and source materials for the subsequent preparation of polycrystalline Cu 2 S nanostructures by thermal treatment, and the morphologies of the precursors can be well preserved after the thermal transformation to Cu 2 S nanostructures. The samples are characterized using X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.