Abstract: Structure of the silver loaded activated carbon fiber was characterized by SEM, XRD and XPS in this paper, and the antibacterial properties were also studied. The results showed that the silver particles on the silver loaded activated carbon fiber were distributed evenly at nanoscale sizes, the average size of the silver particles was about 20 ~ 40 nm and its existence format was metallic silver. The silver loaded activated carbon fiber had excellent antibacterial performance. When the silver content of the silver loaded activated carbon fiber was 2 200 mg/kg, the bacteria inhibitive rate against candida  albicans（C.albicans）, escherichia coli （E.coli）and staphylococcus aureus （S.aureus）exceeded 99.99%. The silver loaded activated carbon fiber can not only inhibit the growth and multiplication of bacteria, but also can kill bacteria.

Key words: silver loaded activated carbon fiber; structural characterization; antibacterial properties