Bi₂Te₃ nanocapsules with hollow structure have been successfully synthesized by a low temperature aqueous chemical route in an open system at 65 °C. The nanocapsules are 50–200 nm in diameter and 100–800 nm in length. The tube walls have a thickness of about 6 nm with the normal parallel to the c-axis of the Bi₂Te₃ crystal lattice. Chemical reactions during synthesis and the formation of the nanocapsules were investigated in-situ.