Electrospun SnO2 nanotubes are obtained by direct sintering of the electrospun poly(vinylpyrrolidone)/SnCl2 precursor composite fibers. With a fast transport of photogenerated electrons in SnO2 nanotubes, a facile and green synthesis approach of Ag/SnO2 composite nanotubes is developed by the photocatalytic in situ reduction of Ag+ using SnO2 nanotubes as a template. The tubular morphology is clearly observed via SEM while the uniform distribution of Ag nanoparticles on SnO2 nanotubes is determined by TEM and the corresponding EDX mapping. The cyclic voltammetry and amperometry results show that the novel sensor of Ag/SnO2 composite nanotubes exhibits a fast amperometric response to hydrogen peroxide with a wide linear range and a low detection limit, thus making it an ideal candidate in sensing of clinical and environmental analytes. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.