Alpha germanium nitride (alpha-Ge3N4) nanowires were prepared through an oxide-assisted method. It was found that the produced nanowires are long, uniform and smooth with diameters of 20-200 nm and lengths of several tens of micrometers. The alpha-Ge3N4 nanowires were characterized in detail. The observations reveal that the alpha-Ge3N4 nanowires are crystalline and free of defects. The growth mechanism of the nanowires was also proposed. This method is an efficient way for producing Ge3N4 nanowires and could also be employed to fabricate other nanowires. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.