High-performance field-effect transistors (FETs) based on single phosphorus-doped n-type CdS nanoribbon with high-kappa HfO2 dielectric and top-gate geometry were constructed. In contrast to the nano-FETs that were fabricated on SiO2/Si substrate with back-gate device configuration, the top-gate FETs exhibit a substantial improvement in performances, i.e., work voltage was reduced to a small value of within +/-5 V, the subthreshold swing was reduced to 200 mV/dec and the Ion/Ioff ratio was increased by about six orders of magnitude. The top-gate CdS:P nano-FET shows high sensitivity upon light irradiation, revealing that the top-gate FETs are promising candidates for nanoelectronic and optoelectronic applications.