The present study demonstrates how petal‐shaped copper oxide (CuO) nano‐rod structures were fabricated using the microwave‐assisted combustion method. The prepared material was annealed at a temperature of 500°C and characterized by means of optical absorption spectroscopy (UV–Vis), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE‐SEM), and Photo‐conductivity technique (I‐V characteristics). The optical energy gap of CuO nano‐rods was analysed through the UV–Vis NIR spectroscopic technique and the result illustrates that the energy gap of synthesised CuO nano‐rods is found to be 1.44 eV. The XRD of the synthesised sample confirms that copper oxide nanorods are in pure monoclinic phase with lattice parameters x=4.675 Å, y=3.343 Å, z=5.183 Å. Energy dispersive analysis using X‐rays confirms the existence of copper and oxygen atoms in synthesised CuO nanocrystals. FE‐SEM micrographs specify that the synthesised material contains nanostructured nano‐rods with a small amount of agglomeration in the product. The electrical properties of CuO film were studied through I‐V characterization and the results depict that the conductance of CuO film is found to be superior under UV‐ light compared to in the dark