To improve the present unsatisfactory UV-shielding and water-resistance properties of many emulsion-type latexes, in this study, poly(styrene-butylacrylate-acrylic acid) (PSBA)-grafted-silica (PSBA-g-sitica) hybrid nanoparticles were firstly prepared by suspension-dispersion-polymerization. The resulting hybrid nanoparticles were then used to add into PSBA latex to fabricate PSBA nanocomposites. The influence of PSBA-g-silica hybrid nanoparticles on the interfacial adhesion, film morphology, thermodynamics properties, UV-shielding, water-resistance and mechanical performance of PSBA films were investigated systematlically. Our results revealed that filling 1.5 wt% PSBA-g-silica hybrid nanoparticles resulted in significant improvement in interfacial adhesion properties, UV-shielding, water-resistance and mechanical properties. Fabricating the silica-based latex nanocomposite is an effective approach to develop the new emulsion-type paints and adhesives. (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier Inc.