The SnO2 nano-particles with rutile structure were prepared by a Water/Oil (W/O) microemulsion system, composed of Triton X-100+1-hexanol/Cyclohexane/Water. The particles were also compared with that synthesized by citric acid method. The powders were characterized by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microseopy (TEM) and infrared spectroscopy (IR). The result showed that the SnO2 particles prepared by microemulsion had fine shape and narrow range of particle size distribution. The crystallite size calcined at 600 degrees C was 11.49 nm, while the crystallite size prepared by citric acid method was about 17.4 nm.