A comprehensive theoretical investigation on the electronic and magnetic properties of V-doped and H-passivated ZnO nanowires (NWs) was performed using spin-polarized density functional theory. The magnetic couplings of six configurations of V-doped ZnO NWs are studied in detail and stable ferromagnetism (FM) ordering is found in certain configurations. The FM mechanism originated from the strong hybridization of V 3d and O 2p around the Fermi level. Our results show that the uniaxial strain is an effective method to tune the magnetic properties of this material system. Room temperature ferromagnetism in these V-doped ZnO NWs indicates that these materials have a promising application in nanoscale spintronics.