Cylindrical nano-pores of an anodized aluminum oxide layer on the surface of bulk aluminum were used as templates for the electrochemical growth of semiconductor and magnetic nanowires. The electrodeposition of CdTe and NiFe was investigated to determine the optimum conditions for each nanowire growth over a wide range of cathode potentials. The desired composition of Cd50Te50 and Ni80Fe20 was achieved by controlling the cathode potential during electrodeposition. Temperature dependences of resistance for CdTe nanowires confirmed the semiconductor character with amorphous behavior at low temperature, while those of NiFe nanowires showed metallic character. The anisotropic magnetoresistance (AMR) of NiFe nanowires reached 1.9% at 300 K.