Sputtered Ag on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod-structures grown on a carbon paper substrate were investigated as an electrocatalyst for non-enzymatic oxidation of urea. The Ag/ZnO nanorod-modified electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in 1 M KOH electrolyte with 0.33 M urea. The synergetic electrochemical performance due to the combined Ag and ZnO nanorod materials shows a good sensitivity of 0.1622 mu A mu M(-1)cm(-2) with a low detection limit of 13.98 mu M. Simple and scalable fabrication of the electrode can make it a potential candidate for non-enzymatic urea sensor with reproducible and sensitive detection. (C) The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS. All rights reserved.