Syntheses of zince oxide(ZnO) nanoparticles by direct procipitation and surface modification with oleic acid were reported. ZnO nanoparticles were characterized via X-ray diffractometry(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), infrared spectroscopy(IR) and UV-Vis spectroscopy. The prepared ZnO nanoparticles were nearly spherical and highly crystalline with an average size of 29 nm. In addition, high UV-light absorption properties of oleic acid surface modified ZnO nanoparticles were successfully obtained for a dispersion of ZnO nanoparticles in ethanol.