Abstract: To reduce the redundant overhead and to conserve nodes’ energy in energy-constrained and multi-PAN ZigBee networks,this paper proposed an Energy-balanced Routing algorithm Based on Cross-layer Design(ERBCD)．The proposed algorithm establishes the multi-path downstream routing by feedback mechanism based on gradient detection,disperses the information of nodes’ residual energy with little overhead by introducing cross-layer design,designs a composite routing criterion containing gradient and nodes’ residual energy to decrease the node overhead and balance the energy consumption．Theoretical analysis verifies the effectiveness of ERBCD．Simulation results show that ERBCD can significantly reduce communication overhead and the average energy consumption of a data packet．Meanwhile this algorithm dramatically prolongs the network lifetime,as compared to the existing IP-AODV routing algorithm.

Key words: ZigBee networks,Energy-balanced,Cross-layer design