In this paper, the center hollow ZnO and TiO2 nanotubes arrays were synthesized by chemical etching ZnO nanorods and sol-gel process assisted by ZnO nanorods templates, respectively. And the process concerning the formation of nanotubes was analyzed. Furthermore, as an application of the ZnO and TiO2 nanotubes, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) based on them were successfully fabricated and the cell performances were characterized. The efficiency of DSSCs based on ZnO and TiO2 nanotubes was 1.2% and 2.1%, respectively. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.