In this paper, petal-like porous ZnO nanosheets were prepared by indirect electrodeposition with Zn4SO4(OH)(6)center dot 4H(2)O (ZSH4) as precursor. Petal-like ZSH4 nanosheets were firstly electrodeposited by adding K2SO4 into the electrolyte of Zn(NO3)(2) solution and the growth process of ZSH4 nanosheets was also studied. After heat treatment, it is of great interest that the overall morphology of ZSH4 nanosheets was well maintained but ZSH4 nanosheets were completely converted to the porous ZnO nanosheets composed of the ZnO nanoparticles with about 50-100 nm in size. As preliminary application, the photocatalytic ability of porous ZnO nanosheets was investigated. Since porous ZnO nanosheets possess large surface area, it is expected to be widely applied in sensors, photocatalysis and photoelectrochemical cells. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.