Arrays of ZnO nanorods were synthesized on ZnO seed layer/glass substrates by a hydrothermal method at a low temperature of 70 °C. The effect of pH > 7 of the hydrated zinc nitrate–NaOH precursor on the morphology and topography (e.g. size, surface area and roughness), the optical characteristics (e.g. optical transmission and band-gap energy), hydrophilicity and antibacterial activity of the grown ZnO nanostructure and nanorod coatings were investigated. For pH = 11.33 of the precursor (NaOH concentration of 0.10M), a fast growth of ZnO nanorods on the seed layer (length of ~1 µm in 1.5 h) was observed. The fast growth of the ZnO nanorods resulted in a significant reduction in the optical band-gap energy of the nanorod coating, which was attributed to the formation of more defects in the nanorods during their fast growth. The surface of the ZnO nanorod arrays was relatively hydrophilic (with a water contact angle of 16°) even after the subtraction of their surface roughness effect (with a contact angle of ca 27°). This hydrophilicity of the ZnO nanorods was assigned to the observed surface OH bonds. These characteristics caused the ZnO nanorod arrays to show an excellent UV-induced photocatalytic degradation of Escherichia coli bacteria. Furthermore, the synthesized ZnO nanorods were found to be strong photo-induced antibacterial material, even without considering their high surface area ratio.