Highly oriented arrays of C, N, and S surface functionalized/surface doped ZnO Nanorods (NRs) were fabricated by a simple chemical bath deposition followed by wet chemical method. Surface functionalization significantly improved both the photocurrent and photostability of the ZnO NRs electrodes under visible-light irradiation along with the reduction in onset potential for water oxidation. The C-ZnO, N-ZnO, and S-ZnO NRs photoanodes exhibited 6.5, 5.5, and 3 times increase in photoelectrochemical water oxidation efficiency, respectively, as compared to that measured for pure ZnO NRs under visible-light illumination (10 mW·cm–2, wavelength >420 nm, 0.5 M Na2SO4). Surface engineered ZnO NRs also exhibited enhanced visible light harvesting efficiency and significantly quenched electron–hole recombination leading to greatly enhanced carrier separation. Surface doping remarkably tuned the electronic structure of the photoanodes changing the band position and band bending at electrode–electrolyte interface lead...