Chemical vapor deposition growth of one-dimensional nanomaterials usually demands substrates that have been coated with a layer of catalyst film. In this study, a green process to synthesize boron nitride (BN) nanowires directly on commercial stainless steel foils was proposed by heating boron and zinc oxide powders under a mixture gas flow of N-2 and 15% H-2 at 1100 degrees C, and a large quantities of pure h-BN nanowires have been produced directly on commercial stainless steel foil. The stainless steel foils not only acted as the substrate but also the catalyst for the nanowire growth. The synthesized BN nanowires were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopes, X-ray energy dispersive spectrometer and photoluminescence spectroscopy. The nanowires also possess strong PL emission bands at 515, 535, and 728 nm.