The fabrication of carbon nanotube emitters with excellent emission properties is described. The multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) produced by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method were purified with oxidation method and mixed with organic binding pastes and then screen-printed on glass substrates with ITO film. We applied anode voltage gradually to refine the emission behavior of the emitter by cleaning the top surface of screen-printed carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The density of the carbon nanotubes is about 2.5 x 10(8)/cm(2). Diode field emission experiments were performed in dynamic vacuum system to study the emission current, the emission uniformity, etc. Bright and stable character emission images were obtained in the diode structure and the emission current could approach 1 mA/cm(2) (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V All rights reserved.