Bamboo-leaf-shaped ZnO nanostructures were synthesized by oxidation of metal Zn/SiO 2 matrix composite thin films deposited on Si(111) substrates with radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering. The synthesized bamboo-leaf-shaped ZnO are single crystalline in nature with widths ranging from 30 to 60nm and lengths of up to 5–10μm, room temperature photoluminescence spectrum of the nanostructures shows a strong and sharp UV emission band at 372nm and a weak and broad green emission band at about 520nm which indicates relatively excellent crystallization and optical quality of the ZnO nanostructures synthesized by this novel method.