In order to attain the successful implantation of ZnO nanorod arrays in advanced optoelectronic devices, it is necessary to achieve the fast growth of nanorods and the morphology and photoelectric property control of nanorods. Electrodeposition is used to fabricate the ZnO nanorod arrays. Hexamethylenetetramine is added into the basic electrolytes and the nanorods are characterized to analyze their morphological, optical and electrical properties. Hexamethylenetetramine results in a boost in the growth rate of ZnO nanorods. Compared with those of samples without using hexamethylenetetramine, the growth rate of nanorods using hexamethylenetetramine is increased by 356%. Hexamethylenetetramine leads to the decrease in the diameter and density of nanorods. As a result, the distance between nanorods is enlarged to 58 nm. Hexamethylenetetramine results in the redshift of the optical band gap energy of ZnO nanorods by ~0.12 eV. Hexamethylenetetramine leads to the decrease in the Stokes shift by 0.15 eV, which suppresses the non-radiative recombination in ZnO nanorods. The use of hexamethylenetetramine achieves the fast growth of ZnO nanorods as well as their tailored physical properties, such as optical band energy, near band edge emission, Stokes shift, and non-radiative recombination.