The down conversion (DC) material ZnO: Eu3+, Dy3+ are synthesized by precipitation method and used to prepare the photo anode of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The effects of down conversion material on the photoelectric performance of the DSSC were characterized by the X-ray diffraction (XRD), photoluminescence (PL), scanning electron microscope (SEM), current-voltage (I-V) curve, incident-photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) and UV-vis-NIR absorption spectroscopy. In this paper, Eu3+, Dy3+ codoped ZnO excited by from UV to blue light converts blue to red light emission, corresponding to the absorption region of the dye (N719). At the concentration 1.75% of ZnO: Eu3+, Dy3+ (weight ratio of DC to TiO2), the short-circuit current density and conversion efficiency of the DSSCs reached to the optimal values: 8.92 mA cm(-2) and 4.48%, about 212% and 245% higher than with pure TiO2 and about 91.4% and 105% higher than with TiO2/graphene (G) structure, respectively. The research result reveals that the application of DC material can improve the efficiency of DSSCs. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.