ZnO tetrapods have been grown by sublimation process employing thermal evaporation at 950 C on quartz substrate. The grown ZnO tetrapods exhibited noteworthy microstructure, phase formation, emission bands and antibacterial performance. A detailed micro- and nano- analysis supported with analytical measurements elucidated the faceted tetrapod growth with hexagonal wurzite crystal structure of ZnO. Each arm of the tetrapod revealed a facetted hexagonal cross-section with uniform length and diameter. The photolumiscence spectra showed engrossing optical properties with pre-dominant green emission completely overwhelming the near band edge (NBE) UV peak. These fascinating tetrapod objects responded well for antibacterial activity against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.