Steady-state and dynamic spectroscopic studies have been given in support of the electronic confinement of Zn(phen)(2)(NO3)(2), 1 (phen=1, 10-phenanthroline), within nanoporous MCM-41. The bathochromic shift of the 0-0 transitions, together with the shortening of the excited state lifetimes have been correlated with the reduction of the HOMO-LUMO band gap accompanying by the increased energies of the frontier orbitals. This trend indicates that the electronic confinement of organic molecules is indeed realized in larger cavities, such as nanocavities of MCM-41. The variations in the 0-0 transitions observed here have also been confirmed by theoretical calculations.