Gold nanoparticles (NPs)/polypyrrole (PPy) bi-layer film was fabricated through a solution-based seeding process. The growth of the gold layer has been studied by the use of a field emission scanning electron microscope and UV-vis spectroscope. The results demonstrated that the PPy chains served as the reductant of chloroauric acid and the ligands to stabilize gold NPs. The resulting gold/PPy bi-layer film has a high conductivity of approximately 300 S cm(-1) and can be fabricated into actuators because of its anistropic structure. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.