In this paper, we demonstrate the preparation of copper oxide (CuO) particles incorporated polyurethane (PU) composite nanofibers by using electrospinning. Two step processes were adopted to incorporate the CuO particles in PU nanofibers. In the first step, the cupric acetate was added to poly(vinyl alcohol) to obtain a thin film by wet casting. Then the thin film was calcined at 500 C and ground to prepare the CuO particles. In the second step, these CuO particles were incorporated in the PU to obtain composite nanofibers. Different types of nanofiber mats were prepared by varying the concentration of CuO particles. The surface morphology, structure, bonding configuration, thermal, optical and electrical properties of the resultant nanofibers were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), UV-vis (ultraviolet visible) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric, photoluminescence and current-voltage analysis. The electrical conductivities of the PU/CuO composite nanofibers were markedly improved than that of pristine PU nanofibers. The improvement of electrical properties is attributed to the better carrier transport in the composite nanofibers. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l.