Structural and optoelectronic properties of as-synthesized SnO$_2$ nanowires were examined in this study. The SnO$_2$ nanowires were first synthesized by thermal evaporation of ball-milled SnO$_2$ powders in argon atmosphere without the presence of any catalysts, arid their structural properties are then investigated by X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. This investigation revealed that the synthesized SnO$_2$ nanowires are single-crystalline and that their growth direction is parallel to the [100] direction. In addition, photoresponse of a single SnO$_2$ nanowire was performed with light with above-gap energy, and different characteristics of photoresponses were obtained for the nanowire at ambient atmosphere and in vacuum. The photoresponse mechanism is briefly discussed in this paper.