ZnO nanorods and ZnO nanotubes have been fabricated by thermally evaporating the metal Zn powder. The ZnO nanorod obtained on the ITO substrate located above the Zn source has the uneven diameter with the abrupt change in its middle, which may originate from the decrease of the Zn vapor in the system. The ZnO nanotubes with the rough surfaces were obtained in the upstream region. The negative thermal quenching of the photoluminescence can be observed in the ZnO nanotubes. This is related with the abundant surface/interface defects which can introduce a large number of middle states in the band gap. According to Shibata's model, the activation energy of the electrons from the middle states to the initial states can be obtained by fitting the experimental data of the temperature dependence of the ultraviolet photoluminescence intensity. The fitting energy values are as high as similar to 100 meV, which may be responsible for the negative thermal quenching in a high-temperature range from 163.5 to 205.6 K. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.