Abstract: Different morphology SnO2 nanorod array were directly synthesized on stainless steel substrate by simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The structure, morphology, photoluminescence and field emission of samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), transmission electron microscopy(TEM), spectrophotometer and field emission testing device. XRD result indicated that samples on substrate belonged to tetragonal rutile structure. SEM and TEM results showed that large-area SnO2 nanorods grown vertically on the substrate with single crystal structure were obtained, but the size and morphology of nanorods changed with the reaction condition(A: needle-like, B: pencil-like). The room temperature photoluminescence spectrum(PL) showed that three strong emissions peak appear at 367 nm, 392 nm, 419 nm respectively and the ratio of the UV emission peak to the visible emission peak was large, indicating the high crystallization quality. The field emission test results showed the field emission of two samples conduct through the electronic tunnel effect and the field emission performance of sample A was better than sample B.