Three ZnE (E = Se, Te) single crystals were successfully grown directly from Zn-E (E = Se, Te) system with the assistance of I-2 or NH4Cl as the transport agents via a modified chemical vapor transport (CVT) method by avoiding the kinetics limitations of the congruent sublimation of ZnE compound. As-grown ZnE crystals exhibit different crystalline appearance due to various growth conditions. The structure, growth habit and morphologies of as-grown ZnE crystals are investigated by XRD, RO-XRD, SEM and optic microscope. ZnE crystals with NH4Cl transport agent look like the platelets with an interesting growth habit, while ZnE crystal with 12 transport agent has high crystalline quality with a conical shape. Contrasting investigation between different growth results offers us an opportunity to understand the vapor-free-growth mechanism of ZnE crystals in closed-space CVT system, indicating that the free-growth habit of ZnE crystals depends on the growth parameters, which can be essentially attributed to their growth mechanism and the main vapor-solid reactions on the interfaces. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.