ZnO nanowires (ZnO NWs) scaffolds embedded in mesoporous TiO2 photoanodes for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) are fabricated via an in situ hydrothermal method. The amount of ZnO NWs in the ZnO NWs/TiO2 films can be simply controlled by the initially mixed ZnO seeds in the ZnO/TiO2 nanoparticles (NPs) paste. The ZnO NWs/TiO2 hybrid structure combines advantages of fast electron transport and strong light scattering of ZnO NWs as well as large surface area for dye absorption of TiO2 NPs. The DSSC based on 13 mm-thick ZnO NWs/TiO2 film with an optimal ZnO content (6 wt% of ZnO seeds) shows power conversion efficiency of 6.41%, enhanced by 18.9% compared to that of pristine TiO2 NPs DSSC. The conversion efficiency can be further improved by increasing the film thickness due to the excellent electron transport property of ZnO NWs as well as the improved dye loading. At a film thickness of 27 mm, the ZnO NWs/TiO2 DSSC yields a conversion efficiency of 7.13%, enhanced by 34.3% compared with pristine TiO2 NPs based DSSC. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.