Silicon carbide nanowire forests were successfully synthesized via a vapor–liquid–solid process. The synthesized SiC nanowires had planar stacking faults perpendicular to the nanowire axis, diameters of 70 – 180 nm and lengths of tens to hundreds of micrometers, and grew along the [111] orientation. The SiC nanowire forest was characterized in a field emitter application and exhibited excellent field emission properties. Furthermore, we carried out in-depth investigations into the growth mechanism of the SiC nanowires through adjusting the growth conditions.