Copper nanopowders were successfully prepared by anodic arc discharging plasma method with home-made experimental apparatus. The effects of various processing parameters on the particle size of Cu nanopowders were investigated in the process, and the optimum processing parameters were obtained. In addition, the morphology, crystal structure, particle size distribution of the nanopowders were characterized via X-ray diffraction(XRD), transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and the corresponding selected area electron diffraction(SAED). The experimental results show that the crystal structure of the samples is the same fcc structure as that of the bulk materials. The processing parameters play a major role in controlling the particle size. The particle size increases with the increase of the arc current or gas pressure.