One of the challenges in improving the efficiency of hybrid solar cells is to remove crystal defects from the semiconducting nanoparticles. Here we report the synthesis, characterization and applications of transition metal doped ZnO nanorods in hybrid bulk heterojunction solar cells. MnxZn1−xO and NixZn1−xO with dopant concentrations ranging from x = 0.01–0.10 were successfully synthesized by a novel facile solution-processed wet chemical method, which gave better yield at low cost and temperature. The morphological and optical properties of the material were investigated by Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–Visible and Fluorescence spectroscopies. TEM measurements confirmed the reduction in size of nanorods upon doping. UV–Visible spectra of doped nanorods showed blue shift with respect to the reference undoped ZnO. The defect emissions were completely disappeared from the fluorescence spectra upon doping at high concentrations. These doped nanorods in combination with P3HT were employed in the hybrid solar cells which gave better current densities than their corresponding undoped counterparts.