This study has been conducted to investigate the effect of incorporating CuO nanoparticles inside PVA matrix with the aim of enhancing the mechanical properties of PVA for reinforcement purposes. Films were prepared by solution intercalation technique with 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 wt% CuO nanofiller content taking neat PVA as the reference for the study. Structural characterisations of the prepared nanocomposite films were carried out by FTIR, SEM and XRD techniques. Various mechanical parameters such as tensile strength, elastic modulus, flexural strength and toughness were investigated and significant enhancement in the properties of polyvinyl alcohol films containing CuO nanofillers was observed. Elastic modulus and toughness showed a linear relation with respect to nanofiller concentration at low wt%, whereas at higher wt% of CuO, the nature was observed to be non-linear. PVA-2.0 wt% CuO nanocomposite showed the highest values of flexural strength, toughness and tensile strength among all the fabricated nanocomposite films.