Awl-like hafnium carbide (HfC) nanowires were successfully synthesized on carbon cloth in a polymer pyrolysis route via Fe-catalyzed for the first time. A detailed study of the HfC nanowire morphology was performed. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to investigate the morphology and microstructure of the obtained awl-like HfC nanowires and the growth mechanism was also discussed in detail. Results show that HfC nanowires wrapped by amorphous HfO2 layer with similar to 10 nm in thickness display awl-like structure and the nanowire's surface exhibit prismatic geometry. The diameter of the nanowire decreases from the bottom (similar to 500 nm) to the top (similar to 100 nm). The growth mechanism of the awl-like HfC nanowires was mainly affected by the combination of bottom-type vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) and solid-liquid-solid.