Thin PVA/copper acetate composite fibres were prepared by using sol-gel processing and electrospinning technique. After calcinations of the above precursor fibres, CuO superfine fibres with a diameter of 100-200 rim. could be successfully obtained. The fibres were characterized by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, respectively. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.