Silver nanoparticles are synthesized using N,N dimethyl formamide (DMF) both as reductant as well as solvent. The reaction is performed in the presence and absence of surfactants at room temperature to know the effect of the same on the size and shape of the silver nanoparticles. In this regard, two different surfactants viz. polyvinylpyrolidone (PVP) and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) are used. The rate of the reaction and the formation kinetics is continuously monitored by UV-vis spectroscopy at regular time intervals. The corresponding change in plasmonic peaks and full width half maxima (FWHM) is studied in detail. The particle size is determined using Mie plot.