DSSCs are a promising class of photovoltaic cells with the capability of generating green energy at low production cost since no expensive equipment is required in their fabrication. Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorods were synthesized by hydrothermal method and their perfomance as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) employing I-/I3- as electrolyte and the dye extracts from fruits of Phyllanthus reticulatus as sensitizers was analyzed. the structural and surface characterization of the ZnO nanorods were accomplished using X- ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). XRD results revealed that the synthesized ZnO material exhibited hexagonal crystal structure which was found to be highly stable and crystallite. The dielectric properties of the ZnO nanorods were analyzed. The dye extracts were subjected to UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy analysis. The short-circuit photocurrent, the open-circuit photovoltage, and the power conversion efficiency of DSSC were measured using J-V measurement system.