In this study, ZnO nanorods are grown on the surface of polyacrylonitrile based carbon fibers using a low temperature hydrothermal synthesis technique. Bi-layered carbon fiber-ZnO nanorod hybrid composite with epoxy matrix is prepared and tested for vibrational attenuations using dynamic mechanical analysis. Results revealed that the growth of ZnO nanorods on top of carbon fiber increases the damping performance by 50% while causing a slight decrease (similar to 7%) on the storage modulus. The enhanced damping of the hybrid composites can be related to the frictional mechanisms between the ZnO nanorod/epoxy and nanorod/nanorod interfaces combined with piezoelectric effect of ZnO. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4746398]