Fluorescein silica nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared using a silane compound bound between fluorescein-N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS-Fluorescein) and 3-aminopropylorthosilicate by a sol–gel method. The fluorescein-silica NPs were mixed with a poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) solution, and the solution loaded with the NPs was electrospun on a filter paper. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy images confirmed the encapsulation of the fluorescein silica NPs in the PVDF nanofibers. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) images showed fluorescein silica NPs as dots, and photoluminescence (PL) images obtained using a fluoroanalyzer indicated the emission of uniform PL from filter papers coated with fluorescein-silica-NP-encapsulated PVDF nanofibers. It was demonstrated that the fluorescein silica NPs enabled PVDF nanofibers coated on a filter paper to be easily visualized. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45125.