Well-aligned ZnO nanorod arrays have been successfully prepared by using low-temperature hydrothermal methods. The influence of the reaction temperature on the hydrothermal growth, photoluminescence and photoelectrochemical properties of the ZnO nanorod arrays was studied in detail. The ultraviolet emission peak increases and shows a slightly red shift, while the photoelectrochemical performance was improved with the growth temperature increasing. The overall conversion efficiency of 0.31% is obtained for the dye-sensitized solar cells based on the ZnO nanorod arrays as the photoelectrode under the AM1.5 simulated solar light. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.