One-dimensional selenium nanomaterials have shown attractive prospects in the field of nanoelectronic devices due to their unique structure and physical and chemical properties. Therefore, it is of great significance to seek a fast, simple and environmentally friendly method to synthesize one-dimensional selenium nanomaterials. In this paper, with sodium selenosulfate (Na₂SeSO₃) as the selenium source and polyoxyethylene lauryl ether as the surfactant, the amorphous red selenium (α-Se) was obtained by the disproportionation reaction of sodium selenosulfate firstly, and then the amorphous selenium was converted into one-dimensional nanostructures (nanotubes or nanorods) of trigonal selenium (t-Se) under ultrasonic irradiation. The experimental results show that both the amount of acetic acid and surfactant are the key factor affecting the morphology and particle size of selenium nanotubes and nanorods. When the concentration of acetic acid exceeds 5.0 mg/mL, the product is selenium nanorods. When the concentration of acetic acid is kept at a low concentration, the product is selenium nanotubes, and the wall thickness of selenium nanotubes increases as increasing the concentration of polyoxyethylene lauryl ether. The transformation of α-Se into one-dimensional t-Se nanostructures follows the 'solid-solution-solid' growth mechanism, and the surfactant-directed growth mechanism plays an important role in the formation of nanotubes.