Poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) is a promising material for tissue engineering applications; however, it can be difficult to create scaffolds with the morphology, hydrophilicity, and mechanical properties necessary to support tissue growth. Typically, pure PCL scaffolds have good cellular adhesion, but somewhat low mechanical properties (elastic modulus and tensile strength). This study addresses these issues by incorporating Al2O3 whiskers as reinforcements within PCL membranes generated by electrospinning. Membranes were prepared with Al2O3 content ranging from 1 to 20 wt % and characterized using XRD, TEM, and SEM to determine composition and morphology. The Al2O3 whiskers were well dispersed within the PCL fibers, and the membranes had a highly porous morphology. The elastic modulus was significantly improved by the well aligned whisker reinforcements as verified by tensile testing. The cell morphology and proliferation studies demonstrate Al2O3 whisker reinforced PCL scaffolds maintained the good biocompatibility. These improvements demonstrate that Al2O3 whisker reinforced PCL scaffolds can be considered as a biocompatible material for tissue engineering and dental applications. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A:, 2012.