Abstract Acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin is a widely used engineering plastic at present. Due to its excellent mechanical properties and high fluidity, it is utilized in fused deposition molding (FDM) technology. In this paper, boron nitride nanosheets (BNNS) were prepared by hydrothermal exfoliation and used as nano-fillers for ABS resin, and ABS/BNNS composite wires for FDM printing were prepared by melt blending method. The results showed that BNNS with fewer layers were obtained; the addition of BNNS to the ABS resin matrix could effectively enhance the thermal conductivity of the composites. When the addition amount of BNNS was 15 wt%, the thermal conductivity of the composite increased to 0.369 W/(m K), which was 120.06 % higher than that of pure ABS (0.174 W/(m K)). In addition, BNNS also improves the mechanical properties, thermal stability, and melt flow rate of the composites, thus making ABS composite wires more suitable for FDM printing.