We examine the influence of channel axis orientation on bound electron states for trench oxide quantum wires built on (1 0 0)-silicon surfaces. We describe these structures by solving the coupled system of Schrodinger's and Poisson's equation selfconsistently using a realistic mass tensor for all six conductions band valleys. We find that for the structure examined aligning the channel axis with a (1 0 0)-direction has only a small influence on the spectrum of bound electron states and practically none on total channel occupation. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.