Wurtzite ZnO nanostructures doped with up to 17 at% Ni have been formed by hydrothermal oxidation of electrodeposited Zn-Ni alloy films. The wire diameter decreases with Ni content, up to about 20-50 nm for the Zn0.83Ni0.17O nanowires formed in NaCl solution. A strong ultra-violet emission is seen in the photoluminescence spectra obtained at 10 K and room temperature. A substantial visible emission exhibited by un-doped ZnO nanostructures formed in pure water becomes negligible by nickel doping and almost completely vanishes for the samples prepared in chloride solution, due to higher crystalline quality. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.