Stable and well-dispersed poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP)-stabilized ruthenium colloidal clusters were prepared via the reduction of ruthenium(Ⅲ) chloride by refluxing with low boiling point alcohols. Investigation of the size of Ru colloids by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) indicated that the average diameters could be controlled in the range of 1.2-1.6 nm with relative standard deviations of less than 0.33 by changing the molar ratio of PVP to Ru. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization verified the formation of elemental ruthenium colloids.