We observe ultraviolet photoluminescence from sputtered ZnO quantum dots which are fabricated with no annealing steps. The nanocrystals are embedded in amorphous SiO2 and exhibit a narrow size distribution of 3.5 ± 0.6 nm. Photoluminescence and transmittance measurements show a shift of ultraviolet emission and absorption of the dots compared to bulk ZnO material. This work paves the way for cheap nanooptical devices in the ultraviolet which are fabricated in a single sputtering run.