The mass synthesis of ZnS nanobelts, nanowires, and nanoparticles has been achieved by a simple method of thermal evaporation of ZnS powders onto silicon substrates in the presence of An catalyst. The temperature of the substrates and the concentration of ZnS vapor were the critical experimental parameters for the formation of different morphologies of ZnS nanostructures. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy show that the diameters of as-prepared nanowires were 30-70nm. The UV emission at 374nm is probably related to the exciton emission, while the mechanism of blue emission at 443nm is probably mainly due to the presence of various surface states. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.