Highly ordered zirconia and hafnia nanotubes were fabricated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) within the anodic alumina oxide (AAO) template. Scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive spectroscopy were used to characterize the morphology and elemental compositions of the different ALD coatings. The diameters of the AAO pores are in the range of 200-300 nm with a thickness of 60 mu m. The results indicated that the freestanding nanotubes were uniformly grown through the entire template thickness. The ALD process conformally replicated the AAO template dimensions. The number of ALD cycles controlled the resultant nanotube wall thickness.