In this work the effect of OH on the electronic states of H-passivated 3C-SiC nanostructures, was studied by means of Density Functional Theory. We compare the electronic band structure for a [1 1 1]-oriented nanowire with total H, OH passivation and a combination of both. Also the electronic states of a porous silicon carbide case (PSiC) a C-rich pore surface in which the dangling bonds on the surface are saturated with H and OH was studied. The calculations show that the surface replacement of H with OH radicals is always energetically favorable and more stable. In all cases the OH passivation produced a similar effect than the H passivation, with electronic band gap of lower energy value than the H-terminated phase. When the OH groups are attached to C atoms, the band gap feature is changed from direct to indirect. The results indicate the possibility of band gap engineering on SiC nanostructures through the surface passivation species. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.