Resistive switching memory devices are promising candidates for emerging memory technologies because they yield outstanding device performance. Storage mechanisms for achieving high-density memory applications have been developed; however, so far many of them exhibit typical resistive switching behavior from the limited controlling conditions. In this study, we introduce photons as an unconventional stimulus for activating resistive switching behaviors. First, we compare the resistive switching behavior in light and dark conditions to describe how resistive switching memories can benefit from photons. Second, we drive the switching of resistance not by the electrical stimulus but only by the modulation of photon. ZnO nanorods were employed as a model system to demonstrate photo-stimulated resistive switching in high-surface-area nanomaterials, in which photo-driven surface states strongly affect their photoconductivity and resistance states.