Zinc oxide (ZnO) products with different morphologies, such as sheets, rods and tubes, were successfully synthesized by a simple, rapid, and energy saving microwave hydrothermal method. ZnO products characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman, UV-vis, and photoluminescence spectrometers were found to have good crystal quality. As a catalyst, they could effectively photodegrade 10 mg/L of methyl orange within 1 h. ZnO products with hollow tubular structures could be synthesized within 3 h at 373 K and 400-W microwave irradiation power. Washing ZnO products with deionized water after microwave treatment was found to form desired hollow tubular structures. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.