Highly ordered and stepped ZnO comb-like structures were fabricated using conventional thermal evaporation method. Zn powder covered by a layer of a mixture of ZnO and graphite was employed as the Zn source. The obtained ZnO comb-like structures are several tens of micrometers and some of them are even up to 100 mu m. Both the widths of the belts and the lengths of the branches gradually decrease along the growth direction of ZnO comb-like structures. Under the most suitable condition, ZnO nanorods branches have uniform diameters and are evenly distributed on the belt-like stem. Possible growth process of ZnO comb-like structures was discussed. The effect of growth temperature on the morphology of the obtained products was also investigated. Room-temperature photoluminescence spectra from the ZnO comb-like structures and the nanorods film reveal weak UV emission and strong green emission. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V.