Electrospun fibers resemble extracellular matrix and are successfully being used in drug delivery and wound healing. The present study reports the extraction of cellulose from natural fiber such as bamboo which is cost effective. It was then added to Poly(2-hydroxy ethyl methacrylate) (pHEMA) solution and electrospun to obtain pHEMA-bamboo cellulose nanocomposite fibers. The characterization of the prepared bamboo cellulose, pHEMA-bamboo cellulose nanocomposite fibers were carried out using FTIR, XRD, TGA and SEM analysis. The biocompatibility of the prepared nanocomposite fiber were studied by MTT extraction method using Vero cell lines. Similarly the anticancer activity of paclitaxel incorporated nanocomposite fibers were assessed using MCF 7 cancer cell lines. The prepared nanocomposite fibers showed 96% cell viability and the paclitaxel incorporated pHEMA-bamboo cellulose nanocomposite fiber showed 7.4% cancer cell viability in 72 h. This proves the applicability of the prepared polymer matrix composite fiber as a fibrous mesh covering the affected skin area for skin cancers or wound healing. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.