Amorphous silicon nanowires were prepared by heating an Si substrate at high temperatures using an Ni (or Au) catalyst. The nanowires have a diameter of 10 - 40nm and a length of up to several tens of micrometres.Unlike the well-known vapour-liquid-solid mechanism, a solid-liquid-solid mechanism appeared to control the nanowire growth. The heating process had a strong influence on the growth of silicon nanowires. It was found that ambient gas was necessary to grow nanowires. This method can be used to prepare other kinds of nanowires.