We report the nitrogen monoxide (NO) gas sensing properties of p-type CuO-nanorod-based gas sensors. We synthesized the p-type CuO nanorods with breadth of about 30 nm and length of about 330 nm by a hydrothermal method using an as-deposited CuO seed layer prepared on a $Si/SiO_2$ substrate by the sputtering method. We fabricated polycrystalline CuO nanorod arrays at $80^{circ}C$ under the hydrothermal condition of 1:1 morality ratio between copper nitrate trihydrate [$Cu(NO_2)_2{cdot}3H_2O$] and hexamethylenetetramine ($C_6H_{12}N_4$). Structural characterizations revealed that we prepared the pure CuO nanorod array of a monoclinic crystalline structure without any obvious formation of secondary phase. It was found from the gas sensing measurements that the p-type CuO nanorod gas sensors exhibited a maximum sensitivity to NO gas in dry air at an operating temperature as low as $200^{circ}C$. We also found that these CuO nanorod gas sensors showed reversible and reliable electrical response to NO gas at a range of operating temperatures. These results would indicate some potential applications of the p-type semiconductor CuO nanorods as promising sensing materials for gas sensors, including various types of p-n junction gas sensors.