In this study, nonperipherally tetra-substituted (2), peripherally tetrasubstituted (3), and peripherally octa-substituted (4) zinc(II) phthalocyanines were synthesized as sensitizers for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) in which 3-pyridin-3-ylpropoxy substituent acts as anchoring unit to bind TiO 2 surface. The optical results indicated that there is an interaction between the dyes and the TiO 2 surface. The photovoltaic performances of the DSSCs based on these dyes were found to depend on both the position and number of the substituents. Despite the more red-shifted absorption, the DSSC based on 2 showed the conversion efficiency of 0.68%, which is lower than 1.36% and 0.92% for 3 and 4, respectively, under one sun (AM 1.5G). The vertical orientation of the dye on TiO 2 surface could be the main reason for the higher photovoltaic performance of complex 3, which is beneficial for not only injecting the electrons into the conduction band of TiO 2 but also reducing the charge recombination. Overall, these results demonstrate that the peripherally tetra-substituted 3-pyridin-3-ylpropoxy zinc(II) phthalocyanine complex (3) as a sensitizer can more efficiently utilize the photons in the red/near-infrared region with respect to the other complexes studied.