Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)/nanodiamond (ND) composite scaffolds loaded with 0.1 and 0.5 wt%ND were prepared by electrospinning. The effect of ND content on the morphology, structure, and properties of the scaffolds was characterized with scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and mechanical testing. The viability of human mesenchymal stem cells hMSC 7043L, mouse pre-osteoblasts MC3T3-1, and osteosarcoma cells SAOS-2 after exposure to ND was investigated, and the attachment of hMSCs to the composite scaffolds was observed. Morphological analysis revealed uniform fibers with nanoscale diameters. Thermal analysis showed that the crystallinity of the scaffolds decreased as ND concentration increased, with tensile modulus and strength corroborating this trend. Cell viability was found to be concentration dependent as ND is significantly more toxic at 100 mu g.mL(-1) than 5 mu g.mL(-1). Compared to neat PVA scaffolds, scaffolds loaded with 0.1%ND showed no significant difference in cell attachment or cell morphology suggesting their potential usefulness in biological applications.