We synthesized ultrathin Si nanowires (NWs) by metal assisted chemical wet etching, using a very thin discontinuous Au layer as precursor for the process. A bright room temperature emission in the visible range due to electron-hole recombination in quantum confined Si NWs is reported. A single walled carbon nanotube (CNT) suspension was prepared and dispersed in Si NW samples. The hybrid SiNW/CNT system exhibits a double emission at room temperature, both in the visible (due to SiNWs) and the IR (due to CNTs) range, thus demonstrating the realization of a low-cost material with promising perspectives for applications in Si-based photonics. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.