We reported an approach, in which we have produced the nano-sized crystalline tin oxide (SnO2) particles with ruble structure. SnO2 nanowires were coated with a shell layer of SiOx via a Sputtering method. Transmission electron microscopy and elemental mapping investigations revealed that the nanostructures consisted of a crystalline SnO2 core surrounded by an amorphous SiOx sheath. The annealing effects on the core-shell nanowires were investigated, revealing that the outer surface became rougher by the thermal annealing. For core-shell nanowires, a room-temperature PL measurement with a Gaussian fitting showed yellow, blue, and violet light emission bands, with the relative intensity of the yellow band showing all increase after thermal annealing. Possible PL emission mechanisms are discussed. This study reveals that the sputtering is effective for preparing the shell layers of nanocables. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.