The effects of reaction temperature, reactant concentration, pH of solution and mixing order of reactants on the particle shape and size distribution of zinc oxide were investigated in the preparation of zinc oxide from ammonium hydroxide and zinc acetate by the method of aqueous hydrothermal precipitation method, and the photocatalytic ability of zinc oxide synthesized was measured from the degradation of tartrazine under UV irradiation. The average particle size was increased with pH of solution but decreased with zinc acetate concentration and reaction temperature. The optimum condition for the synthesis of minimum sized zinc oxide was pH 11.2, concentration of zinc acetate 0.6 M and reaction temperature 90 ℃, and its average particle size was 3.133 μm. 97% of tartrazine was degraded by zinc oxide in sixty minutes.