In this work, zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films on quartz substrates were fabricated using the spin-coating method. Thermal annealings from 350 • C to 1050 • C have been performed in 50 • C increments and for two annealing durations (0.5 h and 8 h). X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra, scanning electron microscopy micrographs, and UV-Vis absorption spectra of all the samples have been elucidated from mechanical and optical points of view. It has been observed that for all annealing temperatures, the crystal phase has been obtained. After 850 • C annealings, a new crystal phase related to Zn 2 SiO 4 (willemite) has also been appeared in XRD spectra. This phase remained stable up to 1050 • C annealing together with the ZnO crystal phase. It has been found that the nano/micro rod diameters of the ZnO crystals reach to a maximum (0.4 μm) at the 700 • C annealing for both annealing durations. For 650 • C annealings, ZnO nanorods appeared to be split into two homogeneous nanorods of length of 500 μm and of width of 0.35 μm (350 nm) which was not the case for all other annealing temperatures. After 950 • C annealings, ZnO nano/micro rods started to disappear and formed homogeneous ZnO thin films.