Conventional ultrafiltration (UF) or nanofiltration (NF) filters for water treatments are based on porous membranes, where the torturous porosity usually results in a relatively low flux rate, typically manufactured by the phase immersion method. Electrospun (ES) nanofibrous membranes with a high flux rate evoked a considerable interest in the ultrafiltration or nanofiltration applications, because of their high porosity, good interconnectivity and high specific surface area. Herein, we developed a novel double layers of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) electrospun nanofibrous membranes (with an average fiber diameter of 173 nm) reinforced with TEMPO (2, 2, 6, 6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl radical) selectively oxidized jute cellulose nanowhiskers (with a diameter in the range of 3-10 nm). From FE-SEM images, the presence of evenly coated thin layer of cellulose nanowhiskers on the PAN ES nanofibers is evident. The versatile PAN/cellulose ES composite membranes with superior mechanical properties and high filtration efficiency of 7-40 nm particles would be particularly useful for applications in the domestic drinking water and industrial waste water treatment. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.