Single-crystal Sb doped ZnO nanowires were fabricated on Si (100) substrate by a chemical vapor deposition method. The photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanowires were studied with the temperature ranging from 81 to 306 K. At 81 K, the recombination of the acceptor-bound exciton was predominant in PL spectrum, which was attributed to the transition of the (Sb-Zn-2V(Zn)) complex bound exciton. The activation of A(0)X and the acceptor binding energy had been calculated to be 16.8 and 168 meV, respectively. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.