The major objective of this work is focused on the preparation and characterization of the photoluminescence (PL) property of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) embedding CdTe nanoparticles. The CdTe naroparticles were generated via the reaction of Cd2+ with NaHTe and then stabilized by thiolglycolic acid (TGA). In the process of preparing CdTe/PVP nanofibers by electrospinning, a surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), was introduced to prevent CdTe nanoparticles from congregating inside the PVP nanofibers. Then the results of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction (ED) showed that the average diameter of CdTe/PVP nanofibers was 300 (+/- 61) run, in which the CdTe nanoparticles were incorporated into the PVP nanofibers homogeneously. Finally, the PL spectra proved that the photoluminescence intensity of CdTe/PVP nanofibers was enhanced by the addition of CTAB. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.