In this study, a non-enzymatic hydrogen peroxide sensor was fabricated by directly growing vertically aligned NiO nanosheets on the graphite sheet through a simple, effective process, i.e. the surfactant-templated method. Compared with most of the reported hydrogen peroxide sensor through drop-coating method, our sensor exhibits a higher sensitivity and a good stability, resulting from the vertically aligned NiO nanosheets and method features. The as-prepared sensor exhibited a detection limit of 0.4 mu M (at signal/noise = 3), a good reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD) of 336%), a wide linear range (up to 4.0 mM) with a sensitivity of 1077 mu A mM(-1) cm(-2) under the optimal conditions. Furthermore, the as-prepared sensor also showed excellent selectivity and stability for hydrogen peroxide detection. This study provides a promising electrochemical electrode for hydrogen peroxide detection by a facile method. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.