Flowerlike ZnO nanostructures composed of nanorods were synthesized by co-precipitation method using Zn(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O and (CH 2 ) 6 N 4 as reactants, polyethylene glycol 400 as surfactant. La 2 O 3 was dispersed onto the obtained ZnO with a content of 0.5–2.0wt% to enhance the gas-sensing property. Gas-sensing results of the La 2 O 3 -doped ZnO to ethanol, acetone, ammonia and formaldehyde, respectively, reveal that response of La 2 O 3 -doped ZnO to a specified test gas is higher than that of no La 2 O 3 -doped. Response of 1.0wt% La 2 O 3 -doped ZnO to 200ppm acetone reaches 54.1 at the working temperature of 350°C, and the response time is only 8s, implying the potential for detection of low gas concentration.