The large-scale ZnO rods of submicrometer were prepared on the bare glass using a wet chemical method under different experimental parameters, such as the reactant concentration and the growth time. The microstructure of the ZnO rods was characterized by X-ray diffractometry(XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) with the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), and the optical property was investigated by the room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectra. XRD and FESEM results show that the wurtzite structure and rod-like ZnO is obtained. The length (3-8 μm) and the diameter (400 nm- 3 μm) vary with the experimental parameters. A strong UV emission at 384 nm and a weak visible yellow-green emission around 570 nm are observed in the PL spectrum. After annealing at 600 ℃ in air, the UV peak intensity increases obviously and the yellow-green peak intensity decreases greatly. The near-band-edge UV emission is attributed to the exciton recombination; the yellow-green emission can be associated with the defect recombination; and some defect complexes may be responsible for the latter emission.