Carbon nanofiber (CNF) films have been successfully grown on Pd-Se, Fe-Ni, and Ni-Cu alloy catalysts at low temperatures by a thermal chemical vapor deposition method. Among these alloy catalysts, Ni-Cu alloy catalyst was found to be most suitable for low temperature growth of CNF (400 degreesC). Using Pd-Se and Fe-Ni alloy catalysts, CNFs were grown at the lowest temperature of 500 degreesC. The CNFs grown using Pd-Se catalyst were found to have more defective structure than that obtained with the other catalysts, and exhibited excellent field emission property (threshold field is estimated about 1.1 V/mm). It is likely that defects play a role as electron emission sites. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.