In the paper, zinc nitrate aqueous solution is used as electrodeposition solution to prepare zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowalls by the electrochemical deposition method. The effects of deposition voltage on the surface morphology, crystalline structure, Raman spectrum, photoluminescence spectrum, transmittance and ultraviolet detection performance are investigated. The experimental results show that the ZnO nanowalls fabricated by the proposed method have rather good uniformity, exhibit a wurtzite structure, grow preferentially along the (002) crystal plane, and have an obvious E₂(high) mode peak. In addition, the ZnO nanowalls have a strong ultraviolet excitation peak at 394 nm. The ultraviolet detection experiments show that the photocurrent of ZnO nanowalls quickly reaches saturation under the irradiation of ultraviolet light and has the maximum value at the deposition voltage of 1.6 V. The corresponding response time and recovery time are 1.36 s and 2.23 s, respectively. The photo-to-dark current ratio is 38.96 and the photoelectric responsivity is 0.611 A/W at the bias voltage of 5 V.