China had swept seven gold medals out of eight on offer at the Olympic Games in 2008, leaving the men's platform title to Matthew Mitcham of Australia.
Zhou, runner-up behind Mitcham at the Water Cube, admitted he had experienced a nightmare period in his life after the Olympic Games last year but was rescued by his new coach Hu Enyong.
Zhou said: "I want to dedicate my victory today to my coach. He helped me rebuild confidence and made me stronger and tougher."
"I want to prove myself that I'm not a loser any more," Zhou said.
The men's and women's 3m springboard will be the last two events of the Grand Prix which ends today, February 15.