Corn cob, which possesses low ash and high carbon contents, is a common waste material that accounts for a large amount of agricultural waste. This paper reports about a facile method to synthesize silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles with high specific surface area by using corn cob as a carbon source. The method is accomplished by carbothermal reduction at 1350 degrees C using corn cob as carbon source and silicon monoxide as silicon source. Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectra results confirmed the formation of synthesized SiC particles. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results indicated the major phases of 3C-SiC. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed that the SiC particle size is in the range of 40-100 nm and mainly composed of sphere-shaped nanoparticles. The Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) specific surface area of samples is 80.25 m(2)/g. In addition, we proposed the formation mechanism of SiC nanoparticles with high specific surface area by adsorption and vapor-solid mechanism. This facile method for synthesizing SiC nanoparticles provides a new idea for high-value application of corn cobs and new raw material for the preparation of silicon carbide. (C) 2018 The Society of Powder Technology Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. and The Society of Powder Technology Japan. All rights reserved.