The growth of ZnO nanorods on a flat substrate was studied as a function of the main parameters used in their preparation and their ability to photocatalytically eliminate bacteria in water. The seed layer was obtained, by a spray pyrolysis technique, from a zinc acetate solution. Subsequently, to grow the rods, the seeds were immersed in a basic solution of zinc nitrate maintained at 90 °C. The growth parameters, thickness of the seed layer, acidity of the precursor solution used to obtain the seed layer, and the rate of crystal growth on the seed layer during the thermal bath treatment, were studied. The resulting materials were characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM); X-ray diffraction and TEM were used to study their structure and ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy to determine their absorbance. Most of the obtained materials were textured in the (002) direction perpendicular to the substrate. The rods have a hexagonal cross section between 60 and 150 nm. Using these rods, the photocatalytic degradation of Escherichia coli bacteria in water was studied; a positive influence of the surface area and crystalline growth on the degradation rate was observed. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.