Vertically-aligned and uniformly-distributed CuO nanowires were formed on copper-coated Si substrates by wet chemical process, immersing them in a hot alkaline solution. The effects of hydrogen plasma treatment on the field emission characteristics of CuO nanowires were investigated. It was found that hydrogen plasma treatment enhanced the field emission properties of CuO nanowires by showing a decrease in turn-on voltage, and an increase in emission current density, and stability of current-voltage curves. However, the excessive hydrogen plasma treatment made the I-V curves unstable. It was confirmed by XPS (X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy) analysis that hydrogen plasma treatment deoxidized CuO nanowires, thereby the work function of the nanowires decreased from 4.35 eV (CuO) to 4.1 eV (Cu). It is thought that the decrease in the work function enhanced the field emission characteristics. It is well-known that the lower the work function, the better the field emission characteristics. The results suggest that the hydrogen plasma treatment is very effective in achieving enhanced field emission properties of the CuO nanowires, and there may exist an optimal hydrogen plasma treatment condition.