A low-temperature chemical vapour deposition method has been successfully developed for synthesizing single-crystalline Te nanobelts in bulk quantity from Al₂Te₃ powder and H₂O. The nanobelts had a uniform single-crystal hexagonal structure with width ranging from 50 to 300 nm, thickness about 10–20 nm, and lengths up to several tens of micrometres. The growth of Te nanobelts is controlled by a vapour–solid crystal growth mechanism. The method is very simple and the as-synthesized products are pure, so it represents a practical approach to large-scale synthesis of pure single-crystal Te nanobelts.