We report the low temperature synthesis of CdE (E = S, Se and Te) semiconductor nanoparticles capped by anacardic acid, an environmentally benign naturally occurring capping ligand. The cadmium chalcogenide nanoparticles were synthesized by reacting the reduced chalcogen powder with cadmium chloride to form the corresponding bulk material which was then dispersed in tri-n-octylphosphine (TOP) and thermolysed in anacardic acid. The low temperature of the reaction and the use of a naturally occurring oil solvent make this a relatively green synthetic route. The optical properties of the anacardicacid-capped cadmium chalcogenide particles show evidence of quantum confinement. The particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy techniques.