Abstract The space group of zinc stannate (Zn2SnO4) synthesized by one-pot hydrothermal method was often thought to be Fd3m. However, we observed the presence of (200) and (420) diffraction planes via X-ray diffraction and selected area electron diffraction patterns which are forbidden in Fd3m but allowed in F 4 ¯ 3m. So we declared that the as-produced nano-sized Zn2SnO4 in the previous literatures had F 4 ¯ 3m space group rather than Fd3m. The main difference between these two space groups is that for spinels with F 4 ¯ 3m space group, the octahedrally coordinated metal ions are displaced along directions. In this work, we first demonstrate that the space group of Zn2SnO4 synthesized by hydrothermal method is F 4 ¯ 3m which could provide a new view for the research of the zinc stannate as well as other spinels materials.