In this work, we focus on hydrogen passivation of silicon nanowire structures (SiNWs) obtained by metal assisted chemical etching (MACE) intended to be used in silicon-based solar cells. SiNWs present high surface defects density causing the minority carrier lifetime reduction. Our results show that hydrogen passivation of SiNWs ameliorates minority carrier lifetime by reducing the dangling bonds and then the surface recombination velocity. This enhancement is limited by SiNWs distribution. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.