ZnO:Fe powders have been prepared by sol-gel method with different calcination temperatures (650 degrees C, 750 degrees C, 850 degrees C and 950 degrees C). The crystal structures and optical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra and Photoluminescence (PL). The XRD results demonstrated that all of the samples were hexagonal wurtzite structure, and with the increase of calcination temperature, the diffraction peak of (0 0 2) slightly shifts to larger degree. Furthermore, the lattice vibrations have been investigated by Raman spectra, with the increase of calcination temperature, the representative peak E-2(high) of ZnO shifts from 437.5 to 434 cm(-1), corresponding to degradation of crystalline quality. Also, the dependence of PL spectra on calcination temperature has been investigated detailed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.