The crystal growth is performed in an apparatus consisting of a steel pressure vessel called an autoclave, in which a nutrient is supplied along with water.

Advantages of the hydrothermal method over other types of crystal growth include the ability to create crystalline phases which are not stable at the melting point.

Disadvantages of the method include the need of expensive autoclaves, and the impossibility of observing the crystal as it grows if a steel tube is used.

[5] In 1848, Robert Bunsen reported growing crystals of barium and strontium carbonate at 200 °C and at pressures of 15 atmospheres, using sealed glass tubes and aqueous ammonium chloride ("Salmiak") as a solvent.

[6] In 1849 and 1851, French crystallographer Henri Hureau de Sénarmont (1808–1862) produced crystals of various minerals via hydrothermal synthesis.

[11] A large number of compounds belonging to practically all classes have been synthesized under hydrothermal conditions: elements, simple and complex oxides, tungstates, molybdates, carbonates, silicates, germanates etc.

Hydrothermal synthesis is commonly used to grow synthetic quartz, gems and other single crystals with commercial value.

The method has proved to be extremely efficient both in the search for new compounds with specific physical properties and in the systematic physicochemical investigation of intricate multicomponent systems at elevated temperatures and pressures.

These are usually thick-walled steel cylinders with a hermetic seal which must withstand high temperatures and pressures for prolonged periods of time.

Inserts may be made of carbon-free iron, copper, silver, gold, platinum, titanium, glass (or quartz), or Teflon, depending on the temperature and solution used.