Silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires and a new kind of SiC nanostructure, necklace-like nanowires, had been synthesized by using SiO2 and graphite powder as the raw materials, during which the course of a simple chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique without any catalyst was applied. The products were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The as-received SiC nanowires have diameters in the range of 50-100 nm and lengths up to several tens of micrometers. The growth of these one-dimensional nanostructures is considered to involve a vapor-solid process and the possible growth mechanism of SiC nanowires is proposed. It is thought that the necklace-like SiC nanowires is formed by a two-step process. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.