Polycrystalline silicon nanowires (poly-SiNWs) films were successfully prepared by using metal assisted chemical etching of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) films. The poly-Si films were prepared by solid-phase crystallization of amorphous silicon (a-Si) deposited by different deposition techniques on different substrates. In the case of the electron beam evaporated a-Si on a quartz substrate, the formation of poly-SiNWs was not observed and the structure was found to be porous silicon. On the other hand, poly-SiNWs successfully formed from poly-Si on a silicon substrate. We also found that deposition techniques for a-Si films affect the formation of poly-SiNWs.