Nanocomposite latex with nano‐silica of varying particle sizes was prepared via in situ polymerization and investigated by submicron particle size analysis, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier‐transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) and Raman spectrometry. It was found that nanocomposite latex exhibited a core–shell structure with nano‐silica particles enwrapped, resulting in an increase in the latex particle size. The smaller the nano‐silica particles, the more were embedded in each latex particle. The increase in the particle size of latex depended not only on the particle size of nano‐silica, but also on the number of nano‐silica particles in each latex particle. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry