In the present investigation, we have investigated the effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONP) on the production of beta-glucosidase (BGL) in Saccharomyces cerevisiae under various conditions. ZnONP was synthesized chemically and characterized using various standard techniques. The results revealed that yeast culture administered with 5 mM ZnONP enhanced the intracellular BGL activity up to 28 % compared to control with simultaneous growth of cells. However, at a higher dose of ZnONP (10 and 15 mM), both the activity of the enzyme and yeast growth was dropped. When yeast cells were grown in alcoholic medium (2, 5, and 10 % ethanol), the growth was found inhibited with substantial reduction of intracellular BGL activity. Interestingly, the administration of ZnONP further inhibited the cell growth, however, suppressed the alcoholic effect on enzyme activity. Moreover, under the same condition, ZnONP enhanced the biological activity of the enzyme in cells, indicated a higher yield of BGL production. When the mechanism of ZnONP-mediated cell growth inhibition was investigated, N-acetylcysteine (NAC)-based cell growth study proved that reactive oxygen species (ROS) was not the sole cell death mechanism induced by ZnONP, indicating a second mechanism of cell death. Our findings provide a new insight on the potential application of ZnONP as an external supplement to enhance the active production of BGL like important industrial enzyme in S. cerevisiae in both normal and alcohol stressed condition as well as to produce baker's yeast in higher amount.