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Highlights • Hydrothermal growing of ZnO nanoparticles without crystal seeding on PDA-templated PET film was achieved. • Cluster-like ZnO nanoparticles were successfully grown with the mechanism revealed. • UPF value of 500+ was brought the PET film after coating of ZnO nanoparticles. • The ZnO-coated PET film showed excellent antimicrobial activity. Abstract Growing of ZnO nanoparticles on PET films without crystal seeding has been achieved by employing polydopamine as the anchor. The PDA layer was formed on the surface of PET film by the polymerization of dopamine. The PDA-PET was dipped into zinc precursors for hydrothermal growth of ZnO nanoparticles. Cluster-like ZnO nanoparticles were obtained and the special structure was affected by the growing time and zinc ion concentration. The surface morphology, structure and properties were characterized, and the functions including antimicrobial activity and UV protection of the ZnO-coated PET film were investigated. The developed facile hydrothermal approach without seeding will benefit the development of UV resistant and antimicrobial PET films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]