Intensely luminescent fibers; are preparedby the self-assembly of hybrid SiO2-coated CdTe nanocrystals (NCs), SiO2 monomers, and a complex of Cd2+ and thioglycolic acid. These fibers exhibit tunable photoluminescent colors (yellow to red) and morphologies (tubal, solid, and belt-like) with an extremely high concentration of CdTe NCs by controlling the preparation parameters.