Single-mode optical wave guiding properties of silica and silicon subwavelength-diameter wires are studied with exact solutions of Maxwell's equations. Single mode conditions, modal fields, power distribution, group velocities and waveguide dispersions are studied. It shows that air-clad subwavelength-diameter wires have interesting properties such as tight-confinement ability, enhanced evanescent fields and large waveguide dispersions that are very promising for developing future microphotonic devices with subwavelength-width structures.