The demand of polymer nanocomposite based energy storage devices is in ever increasing stage. Present work demonstrates the application of hybrid polymer nanocomposite (CdSe nanoparticles embedded in poly(N-vinyl carbazole) (PVK) matrix) for data storage devices. CdSe/PVK nanocomposite has been successfully synthesized by ex-situ chemical method. From X-Ray diffraction analysis, Zinc blende structure of CdSe nanoparticles with (111), (220) and (311) cubic crystal planes has been observed. TEM micrograph of CdSe/PVK nanocomposite shows the spherical CdSe nanoparticles having average particle size 6-7 nm, homogeneously dispersed in PVK matrix. CdSe/PVK nanocomposite shows photoluminescence due to the CdSe nanoparticles and p-PVK conformation of PVK. The average surface roughness of the nanocomposite film calculated by using AFM analysis is 45.12 nm. Two-terminal conductivity switching device, structured Al/(CdSe/PVK)/Ag, has been fabricated and characterized. Conductivity switching is due to electron trapping and tunnelling in CdSe nanoparticles and through PVK matrix, respectively. Write-read-erase cycles show a good stability of the device with ON/OFF ratio similar to 10(4). Obtained results reveal the application of CdSe/PVK nanocomposite in data storage devices. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.