Carbon nanofibers were reacted with SiO vapor generated from a mixture of Si and SiO2 to produce silicon carbide nanofibers at 1350degreesC for 2 h under vacuum. The obtained SiC nanofibers with a diameter ranging 100similar to200 run had the specific surface area as high as 124 m(2)/g. The SiC nanofibers were not oxidation resistant, showing nearly complete oxidation at 1000degreesC after about 60 h in air, though the oxidation product was amorphous silica which was generally considered to be oxidation resistant. The poor oxidation resistance was attributed to the inherent nanoporous nature of the fibers resulted from the gas-solid reaction.