Silver nanoparticles were embedded in diamond-like carbon (DLC) matrix by using electrochemical technique on SnO2-coated glass substrates. Particle size and metal volume fraction were tailored by varying the amount of silver containing salt (silver acetate) in the electrolyte. Reduction in size of the metal particles culminated in red-shift of the surface plasmon resonance peak in the optical absorbance spectra of the films. Experimental absorbance spectra were theoretically simulated by Mie scattering theory and Maxwell-Gamett (M-G) effective medium theory. It was observed that Mie theory described the experimental observation more faithfully than the MG model. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.