We reported the growth of high density ternary ZnSeTe nanotips on oxidized Si(100) substrate and the fabrication of the ZnSeTe nanotip-based photodetector. The as-grown ZnSeTe nanotips exhibited a mixture of cubic zinc blende and hexagonal wurtzite structures. The average length of the ZnSeTe nanotips was 0.9 mu m. With 5% Te incorporation, the 20 K photoluminescence peak redshifted by 27 nm. Furthermore, a photocurrent to dark current contrast ratio was larger than 40 for the fabricated photodetector. (C) 2009 The Electrochemical Society. [DOI: 10.1149/1.3246004] All rights reserved.