We used a metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method to grow ZnO films on MgAl2O4 (1 1 1) substrate, and succeeded in preparing films with microstructures from well-aligned ZnO nanorods to continuous and dense films by adjusting the ratio of the input rates of oxygen and zinc sources (VI/II). At the growth temperature of 350 degrees C, the ZnO nanorods were formed under a low flow rate of a zinc precursor. On the other hand, continuous and dense ZnO films were formed under a high flow rate of the zinc precursor. There is a transition zone at medium zinc precursor flow rate, where nanorods transform to dense films. We proved that the height of ZnO nanorods and the thickness of ZnO dense films both increase with zinc flow rate, and are consistent with the mass-transport mechanism for ZnO growth. The XRD spectra of the sample in the transition zone show both (0 0 2) and (1 0 1) peaks, where (1 0 1) peaks are formed only in the transition zone. We consider that there are (0 0 2) and (1 0 1) ZnO grains in the early growth stage of dense ZnO films. (C) 2010 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.