Single phase zinc oxide (ZnO) powders were obtained via solution combustion method using various amounts of mixture of polyvinylpyrrolidone and citric acid as fuel. The powders had honeycomb-like structure which transformed to spongy structure accompanied by the increase of specific surface area from 19 to 141 m(2)/g with the increase of fuel content. The methylene blue, methyl orange and rhodamine B dyes were photodegraded in the presence of ZnO powders under ultraviolet irradiation. The highest photodegradation (94%) was obtained for methylene blue by ZnO powders prepared at fuel to oxidant ratio of 1. However, the photodegradation decreased to 52 and 88% for methyl orange and rhodamine B dyes, respectively.