To fabricate a high-performance material for sensor devices at room temperature and further improve the synthetic approach of sensing materials, one dimensional (1D) CuO-CNTs nanocomposites were prepared with CNTs and CuO nanorods (NRs) via a facile reflux method. The 1D composite with the molar ratio of CuO and CNTs at 2.4:1 displays excellent gas sensing performance, i.e. the lowest detectable limit of 970 ppb and the short response time of 6s-97.0 ppm NO2 at room temperature. In the 1D composite, the CNTs part provides a channel to enable effective and fast carrier transport, while the CuO NRs fabricates an asymmetrical schottky contact at the interface between the composites and the Au electrode. The advantage of the synergy of CNTs and CuO which possesses superior conductivity benefits the sensing of our 1D CuO-CNTs composite by providing affluent electrons. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.