Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) were synthesized directly from South African coal fly ash, an industrial by-product derived from coal combustion in thermal power plants. The CNMs were produced by chemical vapour deposition (CVD) method in the presence of catalytic coal fly ash and acetylene gas as a carbon source, at temperatures reaching a maximum of 700 °C [1-2]. Characterisation of the fly ash was done by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and its morphology was characterised using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Iron oxide (Fe2O3) was one of the metal oxides measured in fly ash by ICP-OES and it is responsible for the catalysis of CNMs. Formation of CNMs was confirmed by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and laser Raman spectroscopy[3-4]. CNMs are attracting attention worldwide due to their excellent performance in various fields: drug delivery, heterogeneous catalysis, encapsulation of support and electrode materials[5]. Keywords: Coal Fly Ash, Catalysis, Metal oxide, Chemical vapour deposition, Carbon nanospheres References [1] M. Kumar, Y. Ando, Journal of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 10 (2010) 3739–3758. [2] Z.T. Yao, X.S. Ji, P.K. Sarker, J.H. Tang, L.Q. Ge, M.S. Xia, Y.Q. Xi, Earth-Science Reviews 141 (2015) 105-121. [3] C. Buzea, Ivan. I. P. Blandino, and K, Robbie, Biointerphases 2 (2007) MR17 - MR172. [4] H. Wang, B. Li, and J. Yang, The Journal of Physical Chemistry C 121 (6) (2017) 3661-3672. [5] M.F. L. De Volder, S. H. Tawfick, R. H. Baughman, A. J. Hart, Science 339 ( 6119), (2013) 535-539.