In this paper, we explored a facile method to prepare stable silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) using extracted wool keratin as the capping agent. The formation of Ag NPs was investigated by UV-Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photo-electron spectrometer and X-ray diffraction spectrometer. The morphology of the NPs was detected by scanning electron microscopy in vacuum and atomic force microscopy in fluid. The possible interactions between the silver core and the capping agent have been investigated using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The effects of keratin concentration on the incubation of the NPs were studied by UV-Vis spectra. It was found that under alkaline condition the process of incubation was much faster than that under neutral pH condition. The photoluminescence properties of the Ag NPs were also investigated. We believe that this work is helpful for the high-value utilization of wool and other keratin-rich bioresource. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.