Niobium oxide/poly(vinylacetate) composite nanofibres have been prepared by electrospinning method. Pure ceramic niobium oxide fibres were obtained by high temperature calcination of the organic-inorganic composite nanofibres. The materials have been characterised by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and infra-red (IR) spectroscopy. It has been observed that both the morphology and the crystallinity of the fibres depend on the calcination temperature. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.