By carefully controlling the reacting conditions, including atmosphere, temperature, and time, we directlyacquire the nanowires of
-Fe
2O
3 from the nanowires of
-Fe
2O
3 in a reduced atmosphere. X-ray diffraction,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Raman spectrum, and transmission electronic microscope analysesdemonstrate that the nanowires are single-crystalline
-Fe
2O
3. The nanowires have a diameter ranging from50 to 90 nm and their typical
lengths are in the range of 10~20
m. The optical property of the nanowiresis observed by photoluminescence spectrum. The magnetic behavior of it is investigated by a magnetic propertymeasurement system. The blocking temperature is found to be about 200 K. In addition, the mechanism ofthe transformation from
-Fe
2O
3 nanowires to
-Fe
2O
3 nanowires is preliminarily studied by ab initio approach.It is found that the role of H
2 is to change the Fe-O bonds in
-Fe
2O
3 nanowires, and then
-Fe
2O
3 istransformed into
-Fe
2O
3.