As a new generation of semiconductor reinforcements, fluorescent carbon dots have unpredictable and potential applications in bioimaging, photocatalysis, and optoelectronic devices. This work shows an environmentally friendly process for carbon dots preparation using citric acid monohydrate and urea. The influence of different parameters on luminous property was carefully studied based on the photoluminescence intensity measurement, including synthesis temperature, time and the concentration of carbon sources and deactivator. Then the synthesized products were further characterized by TEM, FT-IR, XPS, UV-vis, and XRD. Highest fluorescence intensity could be achieved under the carbon sources and deactivator concentration of 0.3 mol/L and 1 mol/L, respectively, in a total reaction system of 40 ml at 190 °C for 18 hours. The screening analysis revealed that synthesis temperature has a strong correlation with the photoluminescence intensity. This study provides further insights into designing high fluorescent performance for carbon dots preparation.