Nanocomposites (NCs) of silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) and carbon quantum dots (CQDs) have been received increasing attention for diverse applications including sensing, photocatalyst, surface enhanced Raman scattering detection and antibacterial. Herein, we report a unique photosynthesis of Ag NPs-CQD using CQDs as photo-reducing agent. Highly luminescent CQDs were prepared by a hydrothermal method using a mixture of citric acid (CA) and ethylenediamine (EDA) as starting precursors. X-ray diffraction pattern (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), infrared (IR) and Raman spectroscopies confirmed the formation of NCs. We have demonstrated that the formation of Ag NPs accompanied with the degradation of surface fluorophores, which responded for the resolved absorption peak at ca. 346 nm and high luminescence of pristine CQDs. The NCs showed excellent antibacterial affinity to Escherichia coli. The results provide new understandings on the interactions between CQDs and silver ions as well as potential applications of Ag NP – CQD nanocomposites.