Au-loaded In2O3 nanofibers, with different Au concentrations from 0.1 wt% to 0.4 wt%, were successfully prepared by an electrospinning method and characterized via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that the fibers with diameters ranged from 80 to 100 nm were made up of cubic In2O3. The nanofibers were deposited on a silicon substrate with micro hot-plate and signal electrodes to construct a micro gas sensor. The ethanol sensing properties of the sensors based on Au-loaded In2O3 nanofibers with different Au concentrations were investigated. It is found that the 0.2 wt% Au-loaded In2O3 based sensors possessed the characterization of high response, fast response/recovery and low power consumption. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.