Graphene oxide-cadmium selenide (GO-CdSe) nanocomposites were synthe sized by a facile two-phase method,and reduced graphene oxide-cadmium selenide (RGO-CdSe) nano composites were further synthesized using hydrazine hydrate as reducing agent.The morphology,s tructure and optical properties of the nanocomposites were characterized by transmission electric mic roscopy (TEM),X-ray diffraction (XRD),ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) absorpt ion spectrum and photoluminescence (PL) spectrum.The CdSe quantum dots are zinc blende structure ,and the diameters of the quantum dots are about 6nm,which are uniformly distributed on the RGO surface.The third -order optical absorption nonlinearities of the RGO-CdSe nanocomposites were investigated by using picose cond Z-scan technique at 532nm.The reverse saturable absorption properties of RGO-CdSe com posites were observed.The RGO-CdSe nanocomposites exhibit enhanced nonlinear optical absor ption properties compared with RGO.The nonlinear absorption coefficient of RGO-CdSe composite i s 18.3cm/GW,which is higher than the nonlinear absorption coefficient of pure r educed graphene oxide of 11.2cm/GW. The results indicate that the RGO-CdSe nanocomposites are promising for optica l devices,such as optical limiters and optical switch.