Large quantities of high-quality GaN nanobelts were successfully grown on a Ni-coated LaAlO3 substrate by a direct reaction of milled Ga2O3 powders and NH3. The width of the nanobelts is in the range from 100 nm to 1 mu m, and the ratio of thickness to width is about (1)/(10). The maximum length is up to several tens of micrometers. The clear lattice fringes in the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images indicate the growth of good-quality hexagonal single-crystal GaN nanobelts. The Raman spectrum exhibits two additional peaks at 256 and 422cm(-1). The photo luminescence spectrum reveals a broad, strong blue emission band centered at 2.65 eV. The growth mechanism of the GaN nanobelts is briefly discussed. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.