Cadmium compounds with one dimension (1D) nanostructures have attracted attention for their excellent electrical and optical properties. In this study, vertically aligned CdTe-Si nanostructures with high density were synthesized by several simple chemical reactions. First, l D Te nanostructures were synthesized by silver assisted chemical Si wafer etching followed by a galvanic displacement reaction of the etched Si nanowires. Nanowire length was controlled from 1 to 25 μm by adjusting etching time. The Si nanowire galvanic displacement reaction in HTeO₂ + electrolyte created hybrid 1D Te-branched Si nanostructures. The sequential topochemical reaction resulted in Ag₂Te-Si nanostructures, and the cation exchange reaction with the hybrid 1D Te-branched Si nanostructures resulted in CdTe-Si nanostructures. Wet chemical processes including metal assisted etching, galvanic displacement, topochemical and cation exchange reactions are proposed as simple routes to fabricate large scale, vertically aligned CdTe-Si hybrid nanostructures with high density.