In this work, the Zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized using thermal decomposition process in ambient air. The growing process required 10 minutes. The ZnO nanoparticles has been fabricated into a photodetector, which appear a significant photocurrent when irradiation under UV-light (λ=365 nm, I=2.33mWcm^(-2)). Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) images show that the average particle size is 15.6~17.0nm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image reveals that the ZnO nanoparticles are single crystalline with hexagonal wurtzite structures. The sensitivity (photocurrent to dark current ratio) of photodetector exhibited ~10 folds under UV-light irradiation. The response and recovery time is 5 and 2 seconds, respectively.