The electroluminescence properties of polymer light-emitting devices with and without an ultraviolet (UV)-shielding filter were studied. The polymer light-emitting devices were fabricated with poly(2-methoxy-5,2'-ethylhexyloxy-1,4-phenylene vinylene) as the light emitter and poly(ethylenedioxy thiophene) as the hole-transporting material. The UV-shielding filter was composed of alternating TiO2 and SiO2 dielectric multilayers made by a physical vacuum deposition process. The current density, brightness, and photometric efficiency decreased significantly for the polymer light-emitting device without the UV-shielding filter after irradiation by UV light. The decay of PLEDs due to UV degradation was greatly reduced by the UV-shielding filter. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.