The synthesis, characterization and thermal decomposition mechanism of cetyltrimethyl ammonium tetrathiotungstate (CTriMATT) were studied herein. The as-synthesized CTriMATT was characterized by Elemental analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), Ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectra. The results showed that the as-synthesized CTriMATT had high purity and good crystallinity. The introduction of alkyl groups induced a shift of the stretching vibration band of W-S bond to lower wavenumber, while it had no influence on the position of WS2-4. Thermogravimetric analysis (TG), differential thermal analysis (DTA) and in situ XRD characterizations revealed that CTriMATT began to decompose at 423 K in nitrogen and was converted to WS2 eventually. In addition,the decomposition product of CTriMATT at 673 K in nitrogen was characterized by N2 adsorption (BET)and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results demonstrated that WS2 with higher specific surface area, and pore volume could be obtained from the thermal decomposition of CTriMATT in nitrogen.