Zinc oxide nanorods were grown employing a low cost hydrothermal method on microslide glass substrates pre-coated with ZnO seed layer. The as grown nanorods were annealed in air at 350 degrees C, 450 degrees C and 550 degrees C. The effect of annealing at different temperatures on morphology, structural, optical and electrical properties was investigated using field emission scanning electron microscopic, X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectral, photoluminescence and electrical studies. The X-ray diffraction pattern of all the samples showed wurtzite structure preferentially oriented along the c-axis (0 0 2) direction. It was found that diameter of the nanorods increased with increasing of annealing temperature. The UV-vis absorption spectra showed a red shift from which it was inferred that the optical bandgap of the material decreases from 3.33 eV to 3.28 eV with increase in annealing temperature. Photoluminescence measurements showed increase in the UV emission intensity with respect to annealing temperature and also produced additional peaks attributed to defects and impurities. Annealing the ZnO nanorod structures at various temperatures evidently showed that the sample annealed at 550 degrees C acquired the lowest resistivity about 1.62 x 10(-4) Omega-cm. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.