Multifunctional, ultraviolet (UV)-opaque, visible-transparent and light-emitting materials with tunable luminescence colors are highly desirable for many applications in areas of ultraviolet shielding, light-emitting diodes and optical lenses etc. In this work, ZnO quantum dots (ZnO-ODs) with various sizes are first synthesized using a simple sol gel route and novel multifunctional ZnO-QD/silicone composites with tunable luminescence colors are then prepared via a simple direct mixing method by uniformly dispersing ZnO-QDs in the silicone matrix. The structure and morphology of the ZnO-QD/silicone composites are characterized using high resolution transmission electron microscopy and attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. UV-vis spectrometer and fluorescent photometer are used to study the optical properties of ZnO-QD/silicone composites. The results show that the ZnO-QD/silicone composites are opaque in the UV region, transparent in the visible region and also light-emitting with tunable luminescence colors from blue to yellow green. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.