Cadmium hydroxide nanostrands with a diameter of 1.9 nm were spontaneously formed by raising the pH of a dilute Cd(NO3)2 solution. The length reaches a few micrometers and the aspect ratio exceeds 1000. The crystallographic structure was successfully elucidated by high-resolution electron microscopy. The surface of the nanostrands was remarkably positively charged and adsorbed an astonishing number of negatively charged dye molecules.