Abstarct: Nanostructured mextal oxide semiconductors such as ZnO are a group of relatively inexpensive compounds for photovoltaic applications that can be used to meet widespread demand. In this thesis, ZnO nanorods were synthesized by a chemical bath deposition (CBD) method. ZnO nanorods were prepared by varying the deposition parameters such as pH (5.5 and 11), deposition time (3 and 5h) and substrate type (glass and FTO). Then the structural, morphological, optical and electrical properties of the samples were investigated. Analysis of the XRD patterns showed that all samples have the wurtzite structure of ZnO with (0 0 2) preferential direction. FESEM images of samples showed that as pH and deposition time increase, the average diameter and length of nanorods also increase. Examination of the optical properties of the samples revealed that with increasing pH, the bandgap of the sample deposited on the glass/FTO substrate increases/decreases. Hall effect measurements confirmed the n-type conductivity for all samples. With increasing pH, the concentration of carriers decreased in both samples (on glass and FTO substrates), on the other side the mobility of the carriers increased. As the pH increased, the optical response of the sample with a glass substrate decreased and for the sample with the FTO substrate, it increased. Also, with increasing deposition time the optical response of the samples with glass and FTO substrates increased and decreased, respectively. To investigate the photovoltaic properties of ZnO nanorods (with FTO substrates), a laxyer of the CdTe was deposited on nanorods by a sputtering method. The XRD results showed that all of the samples have a ZnO wurtzite structure and CdTe cubic structure. The study of the FESEM images of the samples showed that the ZnO nanorods are covered by CdTe. Optical properties of the samples indicated that the growth condition of the ZnO laxyer effects on the bandgap of ZnO/CdTe structure. Current¬-¬voltage analysis showed that sample with ZnO nanorods deposition with pH=5.5 and 3 h of deposition time has a higher optical response, so this sample is more suitable for solar cell application.