Highly ordered gold nanodot arrays have been successfully obtained by vacuum evaporation using an anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) as a shadow mask. An AAO mask with the thickness of 300 um was prepared through an anodization process. The structure of the nanodot arrays was studied by a field- emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) equipped with an energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). A tapping mode atomic force microscope (AFM) was employed for studies of height and phase feature. The nanodot arrays were precisely reproduced corresponding to the hexagonal structure of the AAO mask in a large area. In the gold nanodot arrays, the average diameter of dots is approximately the same as the AAO pore size in the range from 70 um to 80 nm and 100 nm center-to-center spacing. EDS analysis indicated that the gold dots were almost entirely consisted of gold, a highly demanded material.