In the present study, bismuth sulfide (Bi2S3) nanoribbons were prepared by the hydrothermal method using bismuth nitrate (Bi(NO3)3 x 5H2O), thioacetamide (C2H5NS) and nitrilotriacetic acid (C6H9NO6) as raw materials at 180 degrees C for 12 h. The reaction time was largely reduced and the route has been unreported. The constituent, structure and morphology of the products were characterized by XRD, XPS and TEM, respectively. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern shows that the Bi2S3 crystals belong to the orthorhombic phase (JCPDS:17-320) with calculated lattice constants a = 1.1106 nm, b = 1.0993 nm and c = 0.3892 nm, which are consistent with the reported values (a = 1.1149 nm, b = 1.1304 nm and c = 0.3981 nm). Transmission electron microscopic (TEM) studies reveal that the appearance of as-prepared Bi2S3 is nanoribbon-like with the typical width of about 100 nm; and the high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM) image shows that the crystal grows along the y axis. The quantification of X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) analysis peaks gives an atomic ratio of 2 : 3 for Bi : S, which is consistent with the given formula of Bi2S3. Furthermore, the Raman and UV-Vis spectra of the product were also studied. Compared with bulk Bi2S3 (236 cm(-1)), the Raman absorption band of the Bi2S3 nanoribbons (195 cm(-1)) red-shifts 41 cm(-1), which is because of the surface effect of nanomaterials. Furthermore, the product has absorption at the wavelength of about 450 nm in the UV-Vis region. The direct bang gap energy (Eg) was estimated to be about 1.58 eV(Eg of the bulk Bi2S3 is 1.3 eV), which indicates that the product has potential application in the optical and electrical areas.