Silica fume is a byproduct of producing silicon metal and ferrosilicon alloys, and contains 94-97 wt% SiO(2). This study demonstrates, for the first time, that silica fume can be converted to nano-SiC powder at 1500 degrees C via carbothermic reduction with the aid of high-energy ball milling of the silica fume plus graphite mixture at room temperature. The nano-SiC synthesized has particle sizes as small as 30 nm. The effects of the carbothermic reduction temperature and the graphite concentration in the starting SiO(2)+C mixture on the conversion of SiO(2) to SiC have been investigated. The reaction pathways of carbothermic reduction have been identified. A carbon elimination treatment using H(2) to remove the free carbon in the nano-SiC powder has also been proven effective and the extent of carbon elimination depends on the reaction temperature, reaction duration, and quantity of the free carbon present before the carbon elimination treatment.