The tribological behavior of zinc oxide (ZnO) films grown on glass and silicon (100) substrates by sol-gel method was investigated. Particularly, the as-coated films were post-annealed at different temperatures in air to investigate the effect of annealing temperature. Crystal structural and surface morphology of the films were measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). XRD patterns and AFM images indicated that the crystallinity and grain size of the films were enhanced and increased, respectively, with temperature. The tribological behavior of films was evaluated by sliding the ZnO films against a Si(3)N(4) ball under 0.5 gf normal load using a reciprocating pin-on-plate tribo-tester. The wear tracks of the films were measured by AFM to quantify the wear resistance of the films. The results showed that the wear resistance of the films could be improved by the annealing process. The wear resistance of the films generally increased with annealing temperature. Specifically, the wear resistance of the films was significantly improved when the annealing temperature was higher than 550 degrees C. The increase in the wear resistance is attributed to the increase in hardness and modulus of the film with annealing temperature. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.