Photonic nanowires have recently been used to tailor the spontaneous emission of embedded quantum dots, and to develop record efficiency single-photon sources. We will present recent developments in this field mainly 1) the observation of a strong inhibition of the spontaneous emission of quantum dots in ultrathin photonic wires 2) the control of the linear polarization of the single photons by photonic wires with an elliptical section, 3) the joint observation (unlike-cavity-based devices) of a record high efficiency and pure single photon emission process in a photonic wire single photon source, 4) progress toward high-efficiency electrical-driven sources.