Abstract: ZnO nanowire arrays were prepared on quartz glass substrate by wet chemical method. The morphology, crystal structure and optical properties of ZnO nanowires were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and spectrophoto meters. The results show that the ZnO nanowires were hexagonal wurtzite structure, the diameter and length of nanowires respectively were 60-200 nm and 0.1-3 μm. Photoluminescence(PL) peak value of the nanowires was 380 nm, and a strong absorption peak appeared in PL patter from 340 nm to 380 nm, indicating that the nanowires had excellent ultraviolet response characteristic. ZnO nanowire arrays had high orientation.