This paper presents a review of current research activities on ZnO nanorods (or nanowires). We begin this paper with a variety of physical and chemical methods that have been used to synthesize ZnO nanorods (or nanowires). There follows a discussion of techniques for fabricating aligned arrays, heterostructures and doping of ZnO nanorods. At the end of this paper, we discuss a wide range of interesting properties such as luminescence, field emission, gas sensing and electron transport, associated with ZnO nanorods, as well as various intriguing applications. We conclude with personal remarks on the outlook for research on ZnO nanorods.