Hyper-efficient quenching of fluorescence of non-conjugated polymer poly(N-vinylcarbazole) by silver nanoparticles is demonstrated. The quenching efficiency increases with an increase in the length of the polymer chain containing the pendant chromophore units. The Stern-Volmer constants (10(9-)10(10) mol (1) dm(3)) are found to be orders of magnitude higher than the normal photochemical quenching processes. Although nanoparticle induced hyper-quenching is reported for conjugated polymers, similar observation in non-conjugated polymers is unprecedented. A versatile mechanism is proposed that rationalizes the hyper-quenching of both conjugated and non-conjugated polymers. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.