The fabrication of zinc oxide (ZnO)based thin-film field-effect transistors (TFTs) on p-Si substrates by rf magnetron sputtering, photolithography and wet etching processes was presented. Bottom-gate-type thin film transistors using ZnO as an active channel layer were constructed, and their properties were characterized by atomic force microscope, X-ray diffraction and I-V measurements. The fabricated ZnO transistors exhibited enhancement mode characteristics with the on-to-off current ratio of ∼105 and the threshold voltage of 10V. It is believed that the ZnO TFTs fabricatd by the simple and low-cost technique could be applicable to electronic devices.