Objective To prepare micro / nano structure on silicon substrate combining with the mechanism of metal-assisted chemical etching in silicon. Methods Various micro-nano structures were prepared with Cu²⁺ catalysis using monocrystalline silicon as sample substrate. And the formation mechanism of micro / nano structures, the reaction phenomenon and the main influencing factors were studied. The resulted microstructure, and surface morphology were revealed by scanning electron microscope and atomic force microscope. Results The reflectivity of the structure was less than 5% from 250 nm to 800 nm characterized by ultraviolet spectrophotometer. Conclusion Cu²⁺ catalytic etching monocrystalline silicon could be used as a potential technology for silicon texture formation because of the lower reflectance and easier handling compared with traditional alkine etching.