ZnO/TiO2 bottlebrush-like nanostructures have been prepared by a two-step process with facile hydrothermal method and magnetron sputtering technique. The bottlebrush heterostructures were formed due to the extremely low deposition rate of the magnetron sputtering process at room temperature and vapor-solid transformation mechanism dominates the TiO2 nanowires growth. This kind of bottlebrush heterostructures with a suitable length and density of covered TiO2 nanowires showed an enhanced photoluminescence property from TiO2 due to the resonant effect, which will offer great potential for photocatalysis applications. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.