AbstractCellulose derivatives of carboxymethyl cellulose sodium salt (CMC), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), methylcellulose (MC), and enzymatically treated cellulose have been electrospun, and the microstructure of the resulting nanofibers has been analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Before electrospinning, the solutions were characterized by viscometry and surface tension measurements, and the results were correlated with spinnability. Four different CMC derivatives, varying in molecular weight (Mw), degree of substitution (DS), and substitution pattern, have been electrospun in mixtures with poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), and nanofibers of various characteristics have formed. The CMC‐based nanostructures, i.e., the nonwoven sheet and individual nanofibers, proved to be independent of Mw and DS but largely dependent on the substitution pattern. The nonwoven sheets varied in homogeneity, and beads appeared on the individual fibers. Depending on the chemical nature of the CMC, the extraction of PEO resulted in pure CMC nanostructures of varying appearance, indicating that the distribution of PEO and CMC in the nanofibers also varied. Two different HPMC derivatives, varying in DS, were electrospun into nanofibers. Homogeneous nonwoven sheets based on nanofibers of similar appearance are formed, independent of the substitution content of the HPMC sample. Preliminary fibers were obtained from enzymatically treated cellulose in a solvent system based on lithium chloride dissolved in dimethyl acetamide (LiCl: DMAc). © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 1473–1482, 2007