In this paper, flower-like porous ZnO nanosheets were synthesized by indirect electrodeposition method using zinc hydroxide nitrate hydrate (Zn-5(OH)(8)(NO3)(2)center dot 2H(2)O) as precursor. The flower-like Zn-5(OH)(8)(NO3)(2)center dot 2H(2)O nanosheets were first electrodeposited by controlling the concentration of Zn(NO3)(2) in electrolyte and the electrochemical behavior and growth process of Zn-5(OH)(8)(NO3)(2)center dot 2H(2)O were also discussed in comparison with those of ZnO. Flower-like porous ZnO nanosheets were obtained by heat treatment due to the decomposition of Zn-5(OH)(8)(NO3)(2)center dot 2H(2)O. The nanosheets were highly porous and were composed of the ZnO nanoparticles with the grain size about tens of nanometers. The characterization measurements indicated that the flower-like porous ZnO nanosheets were an n-type semiconductor with a band gap of 3.16 eV and a carrier concentration of 2.05 x 10(20) cm(-3). Besides, the flower-like porous ZnO nanosheets displayed a broad green emission at around 475 nm. Once applied in quantum dots-sensitized solar cells (QDSCs), the flower-like porous ZnO nanosheets exhibited a good performance as the photoanode of QDSCs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.