An alternative method for site-selective growth of ZnO nanowires without the use of an Au catalyst or a ZnO thin-film seed layer is presented. Using conventional lithography and metallization semiconductor processing steps, regions for selective nanowire growth are defined using Zn, which acts as a self-catalyst for subsequent ZnO nanowire growth via a simple thermal oxidation process. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction reveal that the nanowires grown by this technique are single-crystalline wurtzite ZnO. Room temperature photoluminescence exhibits strong ultraviolet emission from these nanowires, indicating good optical properties. A series of experiments was conducted to elucidate the unique growth behavior of these nanowires directly from the Zn grains and a growth model is proposed. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.