Unusual ZnO superstructures with nanosheets standing on the backbone of spindle-like rods were synthesized for the first time from a flakelike Zn-5(OH)(8)Cl-2.H2O precursor under mild solution conditions without using high temperature or any organic molecular templates. The formation of the ring-like nanosheets standing on the spindle is related to the special morphology of the precursor and its solubility, as well as the refluxing reaction conditions. The time dependent shape evolution process and the conductivity measurement of the local reaction solution suggested that the spindle-like ZnO particles were formed at first and then the ring-like nanosheets grew heterogeneously on the backbone of these spindles. The ring-like nanosheets standing on the spindle-like rods was somewhat analogous to nacreous calcium carbonate layers around the columns near the growth tip of a young in red abalone, which could have some implications related with the formation of,complex biominerals that exist in nature.