Sn-SnO2/carbon heterostructure nanofibers were synthesized by electrospinning and following heat treatment, and their C2H5OH sensing properties were studied. The hetero-nanofibers composed of amorphous carbon and homogeneously distributed Sn-SnO2 particles were characterized by SEM, TEM, EDS, XRD, XPS, FT-IR, Raman and nitrogen adsorption-desorption experiment. A gas sensor was fabricated from the as-synthesized heterostructures of Sn-SnO2/carbon nanofibers and used to test the sensing performance to C2H5OH. The Sn-SnO2/carbon nanofibers showed improved sensing properties compared to pure SnO2 nanofibers. It exhibits a 2-time enhancement in ethanol response compared to the SnO2 nanofibers counterparts at its optimum operating temperature, good linear dependence of response on C2H5OH concentration in the range of 10-100 ppm, excellent recovery property and selectivity to C2H5OH. The excellent performance in C2H5OH sensing of Sn-SnO2/carbon nanofibers arises from (i) high specific surface and pore structure provided by one-dimensional carbon nanofibers, (ii) the unique sensing mechanism based on the hybrid Sn-Sn02/carbon nanostructures. C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.