A novel method has been developed to produce bulk quantities of beta -SiC nanowires from the mixture of activated carbon and sol-gel derived silica embedded with Fe nanoparticles. Detailed investigation with X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersed X-ray and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy confirm that the nanowires consist of a 10-30 nm diameter single crystalline core wrapped with an amorphous silicon oxide layer, and have length up to several tens of micrometers. The formation process of beta -SiC nanowires involves carbothermal reduction and a vapor-liquid-solid growth process. Two broad photoluminescence peaks located around 340 and 440 nm were observed at room temperature.