Tetrapod-like ZnO (T-ZnO) nanostructures were synthesized by a simple vapor phase oxidation method without any catalysts or additives. We optimized the performances of T-ZnO nanostructures by adjusting the partial pressure of Zn vapour in the total pressure of the quartz chamber and obtained T-ZnO nanostructure materials of high purity, uniform morphology and size and high aspect ratio with a low turn-on electric field of 2.75 V μm(-1), a large field enhancement factor of 3410 and good field emission stability for more than 70 hour continuous emission. Besides, based on the optimized T-ZnO, we developed metal grid mask-assisted water-based electrostatic spraying technology, and fabricated a large-scale, pollution-free, hole-shaped array T-ZnO nanostructure cathode used in a triode structure field emission planar light source. The controllable performances of the triode device were intensively investigated and the results showed that the triode device uniformly illuminated with a luminous intensity as high as 8000 cd m(-2) under the conditions of 200 V grid voltage and 3300 V anode voltage. The research in this paper will benefit the development of a high performance planar light source based on T-ZnO nanostructures.