Surface area effect of carbon source on the carbothermal reduction for the fabrication of ZnO nanostructure was investigated. For a systematic comparison, graphite and three kinds of carbon black powder were used as source materials for the carbothermal reduction. Depending on the surface area, the carbothermal reduction at 800 degrees C for 30 min resulted in Zn-silicate island or ZnO nanorod at the same experimental condition. These structures were characterized with a scanning electron microscopy, a transmission electron microscopy, an energy dispersive spectroscopy and an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The results show that the reducing power of ZnO(s) source into Zn-(g) vapor is strongly dependent on the surface area of carbon source, and that the fabrication of ZnO nanostructure can be performed more efficiently by using carbon source with large surface area: (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.