Thin solid films of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) with dispersed silver nanoparticles, synthesized by a novel reaction route, were cast on suitable substrates for characterizing and studying the photoluminescence (PL) property. The peak position of the PL spectrum was observed to shift towards longer wavelength with increasing excitation wavelength in the range of similar to 370-550 nm. The observed effect arises due to the resonance between the luminescence transition and silver plasmon. The PMMA thin films with dispersed silver nanoparticles may be useful for nanophotonic devices. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.