Ultra-fine poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) electrospun fiber mats containing carbendazim were successfully fabricated by electrospinning from the neat PVA solution containing carbendazim in various amounts based on the weight of PVA. The morphological appearance of both the neat and the carbendazim-loaded electrospun PVA fibers were smooth and the incorporation of carbendazim in the neat PVA solution did not affect the morphology of the resulting fibers. The average diameters of the neat and the carbendazim-loaded electrospun PVA fibers ranged between 155 and 160 nm. The chemical integrity of the as-loaded carbendazim in the carbendazim-loaded electrospun PVA fiber mats was intact as verified by the (1)H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Thermal properties of the carbendazim-loaded electrospun PVA fiber mats were analyzed by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The release characteristics of the carbendazim-loaded electrospun PVA mats were investigated by the total immersion method in distilled water at 30 degrees C. The carbendazim-loaded electrospun PVA mats exhibited greater amount of carbendazim released than the carbendazim-loaded as-cast films. Copyright (C) 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.