The UV-excitable fluorescent poly(lactic acid) (PLA) fibers were spun by the traditional melt spinning process, and the effects of the fluorescent powder content (w(FP)) and draw ratio (DR) on the structure and properties of the fluorescent PLA fibers were investigated, respectively. The results showed that the emission spectra of fluorescent PLA fibers were peaked at 530 nm after UV excitation, indicating the PLA fibers would emit green light under UV light. With the increasing of w(FP), the relative fluorescence intensity of PLA fibers increased gradually, whereas more and larger protrusions were formed on the fiber surface due to the agglomeration of fluorescent powder, both the crystallinity and mechanical properties of fluorescent PLA fiber showed the decreasing trend with the increase of w(FP). With the increase of DR, the tensile strength of fluorescent PLA fibers increased gradually, whereas the relative fluorescence intensity of PLA fibers increased firstly and then decreased, and the highest fluorescence intensity was obtained when the DR was 3.6. In addition, the confocal laser scanning microscope can be used well to simulate the 3D distribution of fluorescent powder among the PLA fibers. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 56:373-379, 2016. (c) 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers