Semiconductor nanowires have received increasing focus from researchers due to their one dimensional characteristics, which offer new horizons for device designs. Nanowire growth has been shown to yield crystalline material on non-lattice matched substrates. Concerning gallium nitride nanowires, common growth substrates have been silicon (100) and (111) substrates. This manuscript discusses the successful molecular beam epitaxial growth of gallium nitride nanowires on amorphous aluminum oxide thin films, grown by atomic layer deposition. Results indicate that regardless of the amorphous nature of the oxide films, the gallium nitride nanowires grown are crystalline and free of defects even at the interface with the oxide. The results offer a method of realizing promising frontiers for device design in which a high quality crystalline material is desired on an amorphous substrate. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.