Alkali hydrolysis of polyester along with application of nano silver/nano TiO2 to produce hydrolyzed polyester fabric with antibacterial and self-cleaning properties is a very interesting subject. In this article, a novel idea is introduced to achieve a polyester fabric with self-cleaning and antibacterial properties with a good feeling handle in one step. The polyester fabric is hydrolyzed in alkali media to enhance the surface activity, improve nanoparticle absorption, and produce ethylene glycol for reducing silver nitrate into nano silver. XRD pattern confirms the presence of nanoparticles with crystal size of 10 nm on the fabric surface and FESEM pictures show the distribution of nanocomposite particles on the fiber surfaces with average size of 54 nm. The degradation of Methylene Blue under daylight irradiation confirms the photoactivity of nano TiO2 on the polyester fabric. Also, very good bactericidal efficiency is obtained against S. aureus and E. coli. Interestingly, the fabric tensile strength improves even with the action of alkali in surface hydrolysis of polyester. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 129: 892-900, 2013