Ceria is one of the most important catalytic materials which can be used in three-way catalysts, waste water treatment, petroleum refining, etc. So far, many methods have been studied to produce ceria nanoparticles. In this study, ceria nanoparticles were prepared via solvothermal synthesis using supercritical methanol in short reaction time using a batch reactor. The size of synthesized ceria nanoparticles in supercritical methanol is 6 nm without capping agent, which is smaller than that made in supercritical water at the same conditions of 400 ℃ and 30 MPa. Size difference results from density and critical point difference between water and methanol and slow reaction rate at the surface of ceria particles in supercritical methanol which reduces crystal growth rate. Several organic compounds were added to modify the surface of ceria nanoparticles, and in-situ surface modification was confirmed by FT-IR and TGA analysis. Surface modified ceria nanoparticles have excellent dispersibility in organic solvent. Size and shape of surface modified ceria particles can be controlled by adjusting molar ratio of modifier to precursor and selection of modifier.