We report the effect of α-particle irradiation on the magnetic properties of nickel (Ni) nanowires (NWs) arrays with diameter of each NW ∼100 nm prepared by electrodeposition using anodic alumina oxide (AAO) membranes. Different doses of α-particles irradiation, up to 2 × 10 16 α/cm 2 were used to observe the effect. Structural characterization indicates the reduction in crystallinity of Ni NWs after irradiation. Coercivity (H c ) was found to increase with α-particle dose due to the formation of pinning centers. The magnetic easy axis changed direction from in-plane (with AAO template) to the out-of-plane due to the decrease in magnetocrystalline anisotropy by α-particle irradiation. Furthermore, the effect of α-particle irradiation on Ni NWs was studied by magnetic Barkhausen noise measurements.