Microwave assisted hydrothermal (MAH) method was used to synthesize crystalline bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) nanoparticles (BFO) at temperature of 180?C with times ranging from 5 min to 1 h. For comparison, BFO powders were also crystallized by the soft chemistry route in a conventional furnace at a temperature of 850?C for 4 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results verified the formation of perovskite BFO crystallites while infrared data showed no traces of carbonate. Field emission scanning microcopy (FE/SEM) revealed a homogeneous size distribution of nanometric BFO powders. MAH method produced nanoparticles of 96% pure perovskite, with a size of 130 nm. These results are in agreement with Raman scattering values which show that the MAH synthesis route is rapid and cost effective. This method could be used as an alternative to other chemical methods in order to obtain BFO nanoparticles.