Let (X , L) be a quasi-polarized canonical Calabi-Yau threefold. In this note, we show that |mL| is basepoint free for m ≥ 4. Moreover, if the morphism Φ |4L| is not birational onto its image and h 0 (X , L) ≥ 2, then L 3 = 1. As an application, if Y is an n-dimensional Fano manifold such that −K Y = (n − 3)H for some ample divisor H , then |mH | is basepoint free for m ≥ 4 and if the morphism Φ |4H | is not birational onto its image, then either Y is a weighted hypersurface of degree 10 in the weighted projective space P(1,. .. , 1, 2, 5) or h 0 (Y , H) = n − 2.