Carbon-doped ZnO (ZnO:C) nanoneedles were fabricated using ion beam irradiation with a simultaneous supply of carbon at room temperature. The structure and the magnetic properties of the ZnO:C nanoneedles were investigated. Hysteresis loops and zero-field cooling (ZFC) and field cooling (FC) curves demonstrated the ferromagnetic properties of the ZnO:C nanoneedles. The Curie temperature of the ZnO:C is above 330 K. The ferromagnetic anisotropy with an easy axis perpendicular to the shape axis of the ZnO:C nanoneedles was observed due to the dipole-dipole magnetic interaction amongst nanoneedles. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.