In this paper, ionic liquid functionalized graphene nanoribbons were prepared by using 1-(3-aminopropyl)-3-methylimidazolium bromide as reducing and functionalizing reagent. Then hollow PdAg alloy nanoparticles were assembled on the composite through electrostatic interaction. The resultant hybrid material showed excellent electrocatalysis to nifedipine and thus it was used for constructing an electrochemical sensor for nifedipine. Result showed that the peak current of nifedipine was linear to its concentration in the range of 10 to 4000 nM with a detection limit of 4 nM (S/N = 3). The sensor possessed desirable reproducibility, stability and selectivity. It was successfully applied to the determination of nifedipine in real samples, and the recovery was 97.6%-101%. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.