Intrinsic ZnO (i-ZnO) thin films were prepared by rf magnetron sputtering of nondoped ZnO targets in Ar gas under various substrate positions and they were applied to solar cells. We have characterized i-ZnO thin films and investigated the solar cell performance. The resistivity and the full width at half maximum (FWHM) in the x-ray diffraction peak were changed, depending on the substrate position. The performance of solar cells was correspondent to the change of the resistivity and the FWHM of the i-ZnO thin films.