A facile approach has been developed to fabricate ZnO hierarchical architectures with different morphologies under hydrothermal conditions. ZnO nanorod-based whisks and nanorod-based dandelions have been synthesized through the adjustment of the ratio of Zn(NO 3 ) 2 to glycine. The structures of ZnO hierarchical architectures have been examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and the possible growth mechanism of these ZnO nanostructures has also been discussed. In addition, the photocatalytic properties of these ZnO nanostructures have been also investigated. Investigations confirm that the morphology and specific surface areas play important roles in the photocatalytic properties of these ZnO nanomaterials.