This letter reports the polarized optical response of nanofiber-coated gold surfaces that originated from surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The reflection spectra of the poly (vinylpyrrolidone) nanofiber-coated gold surfaces prepared by electrospinning showed a clear polarization dependence. This indicates that the SPR at the air/gold interface was assisted by light scattering of the nanofibers. In addition, the optical response of the gold surface depends on the density of the coated nanofibers. This can be explained by the scattering and the interference of the surface plasmons in the pores between the nanofibers. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3601465]