Europium doped zirconium oxide (ZrO2 Eu3+) nanofibers were prepared via electrospinning in which a mixture of zirconium chloride oxide octahydrate europium nitrate hexhydrate poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) dimethylformamide and ethanol were electrospun at atmospheric conditions Subsequent calcination to produce ZrO2 Eu3+ nanofibers with diameters around 300 nm The crystal structure and photoluminescence of the ZrO2 Eu3+ nanofibers were studied as a function of dopant concentration and heating temperature At a dopant concentration of 5 mol% tetragonal phase crystals were observed Photoluminescence spectra revealed several emission bands in the red region corresponding to the transition of D-5(0) -> F-7(J) (J = 1 2 3 4 ) Two most intense emission bands were observed at wavelengths of 606 and 591 nm due to the forced electric dipole (D-5(0) -> F-7(J)) and magnetic dipole (D-5(0) -> F-7(J)) transitions respectively This work demonstrates that one dimensional photoluminescent materials can be generated by a two step electrospinning and calcination process (C) 2010 The Japan Society of Applied Physics