We demonstrated that single-crystalline cobalt monoxide (CoO) hollow spheres and octahedra could be selectively synthesized via thermal decomposition of cobalt(II) acetylacetonate in 1-octadecene solvent in the presence of oleic acid and oleylamine. The morphologies and sizes of as-prepared CoO nanocrystals could be controlled by adjusting the reaction parameters. Cobalt oxide (Co(3)O(4)) hollow spheres and octahedra could also be selectively obtained via calcination method using corresponding CoO hollow spheres and octahedra as precursors. The morphology, size and structure of the final products were investigated in detail by XRD, SEM, TEM, HRTEM, DSC, TG, and XPS. The results revealed that the electrochemical performance of cobalt oxide hollow spheres is much better than that of cobalt oxide octahedra, which may be related to the degree of crystallinity, size, and morphology of cobalt oxides.