Red and near infrared (NIR) fluorescent conjugated polyelectrolytes (CPEs) have attracted increasing attention in the past few years due to their potential applications in biomedical fields. Specifically, red and NIR fluorescent CPEs with special functionalities exhibit great promises in targeted tumor cell imaging and detection of disease-related biomarkers. In addition, smart agents combining image and therapeutic actions have also been successfully demonstrated for some red and NIR emissive CPEs. In this mini review, we attempt to offer a brief description of the synthetic methods for red and NIR CPEs, and focus predominantly on the rationale behind the molecular design and their applications in biomedical research. (C) 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.