beta-FeOOH nanowire arrays with diameters of 50-200 nm have been fabricated by electrochemical deposition using two-step anodic porous alumina templates. The as-prepared nanowires are homogeneous and have large aspect ratios. The selected area electron diffraction photo performed on a single wire was used to confirm the amorphous crystal structure further. The magnetic properties of these nanowire arrays were firstly investigated by using a SQUID magnetometry. The ZFC and FC studies show that these nanowire arrays exhibit spin-freezing phenomena at low temperature. The temperature-dependent magnetization curves show that the Neel transition temperatures are much lower than that of bulk material. Moreover, hysteresis was found at 5 K and the coercivities up to about 1500 Oe. The size-dependent magnetic properties were also investigated. These abnormal magnetic behaviours can be interpreted in terms of the amorphous crystal structure and the low dimensionality of the nanowire arrays. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.