This paper reports a novel helix-like ZnO nanostructure with several tens of nanometres in thickness synthesized on a gold-coated Si substrate by thermal evaporation of zinc sulfide powder at 1020℃.Transmission electron microscope characterization shows that as-synthesized ZnO nanohelices extend along[01-11]direction and the axial direction of the helix is along[0001]direction.A catalyst-intervened dislocation-induced growth mechanism has been suggested to explain the fbrmation of the helix-like ZnO nanostructures.This study opens a new route to construct helix-like ZnO nancetructures by different evaporation sources.