A hybrid structure of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets/ZnO nanorods was prepared and its photoluminescence intensity ratio between the UV and defect emission was enhanced up to 14 times. By controlling the reduction degree of rGO on the surface of ZnO nanorods, the UV emission was tuned with the introduction of localized surface plasmons resonance of rGO sheets. The suppression of the defect emission was ascribed to the charge transfer and decreased with the distance between the rGO and ZnO nanorods.