Cobalt nano-rods were fabricated using a template-free electrochemical-deposition process. The structure of cobalt electro-deposits strongly depends on the electrolyte composition and on the density of the applied current. In particular, as the content of boric acid increased in the electrolyte, deposits of semi-spherical nuclei formed, and then grew into one-dimensional nano-rods. From analysis of the electro-deposits created under the conditions of continuous and pulsed current, it is suggested that the distribution of the active species around the electrode/electrolyte interface, and their transport, might be an important factor affecting the shape of the deposits. When transport of the active species was suppressed by lowering the deposition temperature, more of the well-defined nano-rod structures were obtained. The optimal conditions for the preparation of well-defined nano-rods were determined by observing the morphologies resulting from different deposition conditions. The maximum height of the cobalt nano-rods created in this work was $1{mu}m$ and it had a diameter of 200 nm. Structural analysis proved that the nano-rods have preferred orientations of (111).