Abstract: To study the electrical properties of single nanowire and device based on nanowire,a two-probe configuration setup was built for measuring current-voltage(I-V) curves of individual ZnO nanowire with a micromanipulator system in a scanning electron microscope.The I-V curves of ZnO nanowires,i.e.,almost linear,typical rectifying,almost symmetric and asymmetric were obtained.I-V characteristics are explained by a metal-semiconductor-metal(M-S-M) model and the thermionic emission theory.The current of ZnO nanowires mainly depends on the degree of coupling between the nanowire and two contact tungsten electrodes.The calculation results of electrical properties for ZnO nanowires shows that the resistance of almost linear curve is 4.2 Ω·cm;the effective Schottky barrier height of rectifying I-V characteristics is 0.47 eV.