Semiconductor nanocrystals directly grown on the conducting metal can lower the contact resistance and can benefit the electron transfer between the semiconductor and the metal. In the present work, CdO nanocrystals are directly synthesized on the conducting Cd foil through a simple solvothermal method. Cd foil is used as the Cd²⁺ source and the substrate. The average size of CdO nanocrystals is ∼23.1 nm by analyzing the XRD data. Moreover the growth mechanism is discussed. A hierarchic structure characterized by the nano rods and nano particles in the top and bottom layers, respectively, can be observed. From the UV-vis absorption analyzed by Tauc's relation, the two different optical band gaps are obtained. The photoluminescence spectrum is obtained and studied.