Abstract: The tin was oxidized directly to tin dioxide (SnO2) nanowires at 850 ℃. The X-ray diffractometer and X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer were used to analysis the phase, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to observe the morphology, and the photoluminescence property was studied by fluorescence spectroscopy. The results show that the nanowires prepared by this method were tetragonal rutile structure, their sizes were uniform, and the lengths were from tens to several-hundred micrometers, some even reached a few millimeters, their diameters were about 100 nm. The SnO2 nanowires growth was controlled by vapor-solid (VS) mechanism. Photoluminescence spectrum of the SnO2 nanowires showed that there were a strong peak at 395 nm (3.14 eV) and a weak peak at 310 nm (4 eV) at room temperature, and photoluminescence was attributed to oxygen vacancies.