α-Ni(OH)2 with hierarchical structures were synthesized via a simple route using Ni(NO3)2•6H2O and urea as the starting materials. The experimental results from XRD and FT-IR showed that the samples prepared by this method had the typical α-phase and the size of samples can be control by adjusting the reaction conditions. SEM images showed many uniform flowerlike or spherelike architectures with diameters of 4-6μm consisted of dozens of nanosheets. The effects of nickel sources on the phase and morphology of the prepared samples were studied, the nickel sources had an effect on both the crystallinity and size of the prepared samples.