We report a simple in situ technique to deposit nanoparticles of copper oxide on the cellulose paper which forms a stable layer of CuO. This method can be used to deposit copper oxide on any substrate provided that it is wettable and tolerates relatively high pH around 10-12 for several hours. Same method was applied to deposit CuO on commercial textile and polyethersulfone flat sheet. The resultant CuOpaper shows superior antibacterial activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. This antibacterial effect is due to release of copper ions from CuO nanoparticles on the paper. The resultant composite can be used as cheap point of use system to produce safe, pathogen free drinking water. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.