In this work, a superhydrophobic nickel surface is fabricated by coupling electro and electroless deposition without chemical modification. SEM study reveals that electrodeposited nickel surface is characterized by nanocone arrays and has a contact angle of about 135 degrees. After adding electroless deposition, as the second step, hemispherically topped nickel nanocone arrays are formed which leads to a high contact angle of 153.6 degrees. That is, nickel surface has successfully transformed from hydrophobic to superhydrophobic. This transition is investigated both from the aspects of chemical composition and surface structure and proves the latter is the dominant factor. The present study inspires us to do more research about the creation of rough surfaces and enriches our comprehension about superhydrophobicity. (C) 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.