One dimensional ZnO structures which have uniform, small diameter and high ratio of length to diameter were prepared by a simple vertical electrospinning method, and characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and N-2 adsorption experiments. By adjusting the content of Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) (M-w approximate to 1,300,000) or inorganic precursors, the morphology can be controlled. Finally, the nanotubes with the diameter of about 95 nm were obtained, and its gas sensing properties were under research. For its high surface area, the gas sensing properties were improved greatly. The results indicate that the prepared material in this work has excellent selectivity to acetone and the sensitivity can achieve a maximum at the optimum working temperature. After testing two cycles at each concentration, the response is stable and repeatable. Moreover, ZnO nanotubes have fast response (similar to 5 s) and recovery (similar to 10 s) time. At last, the mechanism of ZnO nanotubes response on acetone was proposed in detail. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.