ZnO nanorods have been grown by a hydrothermal method on titania/titanate nanowires. The resulting branched structures were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The influence of seeding on the nanorod growth was investigated, and the large-scale synthesis of branched ZnO/TiOx heterostructures has been demonstrated. The ZnO nanorods grow along [0001] direction and emit UV and visible (yellow-green) luminescence, as expected for samples grown by a hydrothermal method. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.