Nanowires are the building blocks of future nanoelectronic and spintronic devices. Multiferroic BiFeO3 nanowires of 20 nm size with rhombohedral structure (R3c space group) have been synthesized by template-assisted technique. Magnetic and electrical measurements reveal their ferromagnetic and ferroelectric behavior having high saturation, magnetization and polarization, 3.82 emu/g and 54 mu C/cm(2), respectively, with small leakage-current. Room temperature magnetoelectric longitudinal (L-alpha(ME)) and transverse (T-alpha(ME)) coupling coefficients have been found to be 10.738 and 6.866 mV/cmOe, respectively, using dynamic lock-in technique. The observed magnetoelectric coupling properties have been explained on the basis of their nano-size, phase purity and defect free nature. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.