In this work we study the evolution of porous silicon photo luminescence under illumination. Samples were obtained by electrochemical etching of crystalline silicon wafers of different types. For the p-type samples the evolution of the spectra is explained in terms of photoinduced oxidation of nanostructures, which in turns leads to a discrete change in the photo luminescence spectra, as we reported in previous works. For the n-type material, a progressive decrease of the luminescence intensity is observed, which is attributed to the photoinduced generation of dangling bond related defect states at the surface layer surrounding the nanostructures. This model explains qualitatively well the kinetics of the evolution of the measured photoluminescence. Preliminary results of electronic paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy agree with this model. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.