A novel technology has been developed for the synthesis of thioglycolic acid (TGA)-capped CdSe quantum dots (QDs) in aqueous medium. The reaction was carried out in air atmosphere with one-pot by using $SeO_2$ to replace Se or $Na_2Se$. The technological parameters including refluxing time, pH values and molar ratios of selenium to cadmium had significant influence on the luminescence properties of CdSe QDs. Furthermore, the obtained QDs were characterized by fluorescent spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The results demonstrated that the CdSe QDs were of zinc-blended crystal structure in a sphere-like shape.