The hydrophobicity of the lotus leaf is mainly due to its surface micro—nano composite structure.In order to mimic the lotus structure,ZnO micro-nano composite hydrophobic films were prepared via the three-step method.On thin buffer films of SiO_2,which were first fabricated on glass substrates by the sol—gel dip-coating method,a ZnO seed layer was deposited via RF magnetron sputtering.Then two different ZnO films,micro-nano and micro-only flowerlike structures,were grown by the hydrothermal method.The prepared films have different hydrophobic properties after surface modification.The structures of the obtained ZnO films were characterized using x-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy.A conclusion that a micro-nano composite structure is more beneficial to hydrophobicity than a micro-only structure was obtained through research into the effect of structure on hydrophobic properties. The hydrophobicity of the lotus leaf is mainly due to its surface micro-nano composite structure. In order to mimic the lotus structure, ZnO micro-nano composite hydrophobic films were prepared via the three-step method. On thin buffer films of SiO 2, which were first fabricated on glass substrates by the sol-gel dip-coating method, a ZnO seed layer was deposited via RF magnetron sputtering. Two different ZnO films, micro-nano and micro- only flowerlike structures, were grown by the hydrothermal method. The prepared films have different hydrophobic properties after surface modification. Structures of the obtained ZnO films were characterized using x-ray diffraction and field-emission scanning electron microscopy. A conclusion that a micro-nano composite structure is more beneficial to hydrophobicity than a micro -only structure was obtained through research into the effect of structure on hydrophobic properties.