Nanoscale materials with an organized geometry, especially when shaped as nanorods (NRs), exhibit strong potential to influence the cancer cells as a consequence of their high surface-to-volume ratio and adequate reactivity. Nanostructured materials easily enter various types of cells and proteins and can detect and regulate various biological entities. The current work reports the preparation of zinc oxide (ZnO) NRs via a solution process and their subsequent use to diminish the myoblast (C2C12) cancer cells. The NRs were well characterized by instruments such as X-ray diffraction, field-emission scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The NRs were used to treat cancer cells with various incubation periods (24, 48, and 72 h). The cell death percentage after exposure to different concentration of NRs (500 ng/mL, 1000 ng/mL, and 5 mu g/mL) with different incubation periods (24, 48, and 72 h) was examined through MTT assays; the morphology of stained cells was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The influence of the NRs was also studied by RNA expression, which revealed that the genes (caspase 3 and 7) were upregulated. A mechanism is also proposed on the basis of the acquired results.