A ZnO nanorods based superhydrophobic surface with extremely low roll-off angle is fabricated using a two-step solution based approach-Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) and Chemical Bath Deposition (CBD). The grown ZnO nanorods have average diameter of 285nm with a predominant growth direction of [002]. The static contact angle of ZnO nanorods superhydrophobic surface is 155°, and the dynamic contact angles contact angle hysteresis and roll-off angle is 2°and 1°, respectively. Furthermore, to comprehend the mechanism governing the extremely low roll-off angle of ZnO nanorods based superhydrophobic surface, an analytical model has been developed by incorporating the topographical (diameter, density of nanorods and solid area fraction) and droplet parameters (surface tension, mass and volume). The theoretically calculated roll-off angle closely matches with the experimental results and reported results. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.