To avoid the fluorescence quenching resulting from the uneven dispersion of fluorescent rare earth complexes in photoluminescence films, which were prepared by blending until recently, photoluminescence films were prepared in which the chemical bond combination occurs between the fluorescent rare earth complexes and the macromolecular material. Acrylic acid (AA) was grafted onto polyethylene (PE) film through liquid-phase UV photograft polymerization. Then the grafted films (PAA-g-PE) were reacted with a solution of Eu3+ and thenoyltrifluoroacetone (TTA) in alcohol-water and with a solution of Tb3+ and acetylacetone (AcAc) in chloroform-water, respectively. Thus, red (Eu3+-TTA-PAA-g-PE) and green (Tb3+-ACACPAA-g-PE) photoluminescence films were obtained. The fluorescence and infrared spectra of the photoluminescence films were recorded. Compared with their corresponding solid fluorescent complexes, both the excitation and emission wavelengths of the photoluminescence films prepared in this way had been changed remarkably, indicating that the fluorescent rare earth complexes had been chemically bonded onto the PE film. Moreover, the effects of the conditions (including pH value, reaction time, and temperature) of the reaction of the grafted film with the solution containing Eu3+ and TTA on the fluorescence intensity of the red photoluminescence film were investigated. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.