In this work a new method based on the mechanoactivated oxidation has been applied for obtaining thin nanostructured transparent ZnO coatings on glass. Zn has been transferred onto a glass substrate at room temperature using a quickly rotating steel wire brush. Afterwards by subsequent annealing it is modified into a transparent ZnO coating. The temperature range in which formation of the needle-like (whiskers) structure and transition to the fine-grained structure occurs has been determined. The interrelation between physical properties and the change of microstructure of the ZnO coatings has been shown. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.