In this work, novel windmill-like ZnO structures were fabricated through a solution route at low reaction temperature. The as-synthesized ZnO nanowindmill has a central trunk of nanorod and six symmetrical nanorods grown epitaxially on the surface of the ZnO trunk along [0001] direction. Each nanorod forming the windmill with a smooth top is about 6 mu m in length and about 700 nm in diameter. Several control experiments were conducted to study the formation of the nanowindmills of ZnO in detail. Cathodoluminescence (CL) property of the as-obtained product was investigated, which shows there are three emission peaks centered at 384, 616 and 753 nm in CL spectrum. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.