ZnO-SnO2 nanofibers have been developed through in situ electrospinning technique and calcination. Poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) is selected as fiber template. The composition of products can be controlled concisely by adjusting the compositions in their precursors. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the prepared product shows the desirable sensing characteristics towards ethanol gas at 300 C,such as high response, excellent linearity in the range of 1-300 ppm, quick response time (5 s) and recovery time (6 s), good reproducibility, stability and selectivity. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.