ZnO nanorods were prepared by electrodeposition, and the effect of different shells (MgO and TiO(x)) on their optical properties has been studied. Shells have also been prepared using a simple solution based method. The two types of shells exhibited different effects on the optical properties of ZnO nanorods, mainly due to different annealing temperature required for synthesis process. The improvement in the emission intensity from the samples under optical excitation did not result in changes in the emission spectra or increase in emission intensity under electrical excitation for the same bias voltage. However, improved luminance for the same bias current was observed for most core-shell structures. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.