Photoluminescence properties of ZnO nanorod arrays decorated by Ag nanoparticles have been studied. It was found the enhancement of near-band-edge emission of ZnO was attributed to the giant local electronic fields of Ag nanoparticles, which was confirmed by annealing treatment and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectra. The enhancement of visible emission band was due to the exciton-localized surface plasmons coupling effect. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.