Tris-(8-quinolinolato) aluminum (AlQ 3 ) organic nanoparticles with an average diameter 20 nm were prepared through a reprecipitation method. The AlQ 3 nanoparticles are spherical and the average particle size does not change by varying the aging time. The photoluminescent and electroluminescent properties were investigated via the AlQ 3 nanoparticles and the device based on the AlQ 3 nanoparticles, respectively. Blue shift of both the photoluminescence and electroluminescence spectra for the AlQ 3 nanoparticles was observed. With increasing the driving bias, the maximum EL emission peak of the AlQ 3 nanoparticles was shifted to longer wavelength. The maximum luminance and luminous efficiency of the AlQ 3 nanoparticle-based device are about 600 cd/m 2 at driving bias 16Vand 0.19 cd/A at a current density of 150 mA/cm 2 , respectively. The obvious quantum size effect of electro-luminescence devices with the AlQ 3 nanoparticles has been proved, which will open a useful route and new studying field of organic electronic devices, and the study of the fundamental process connecting both of those more conventional classes of materials, i.e., organic molecular crystals.