Highly ordered zirconia nanowire arrays are prepared by sol-gel synthesis within the pores of anodic alumina oxide (AAO) template membrane. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) are used to characterize the morphology and crystalloid structure of zirconia nanowire arrays. The length and diameter of the zirconia nanowires are dependent upon the pore diameter and the thickness of the applied AAO template. The results indicate that the zirconia nanowires are very uniformly assembled and parallel to each other in the pores of the AAO template. This new method of preparing zirconia nanowire with a large surface area may be important in applications ranging from gas sensors to various engineering materials. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.