The urchin-like shape of ZnO powders was prepared by mixing of Zn2+ and NaOH solutions at various mixing rates. In this work, epsilon-Zn(OH)(2) was the first precipitant that was subsequently transformed to ZnO in the alkaline medium during heating. The size of the urchin-like shape of the ZnO powder decreased with a decrease of the mixing rate. The large urchin-like shape also had a large diameter of its hexagonal facet (0001) and showed the highest photocatalytic degradative activity on methylene blue. (C) 2013 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.