A series of water‐soluble fluorescent perylene dyes (perylenemonoimides PMI1, PMI2, and PMI3) with two aromatic binding units (a perylene‐core and a phenyl group) as guest molecules for binding with cucurbit[8]uril (CB8) were synthesized. The guest structure was varied by modifying the phenyl group and the spacer between the two binding units. Differences in binding, self‐assembly, and optical properties of the corresponding host‐guest complexes were observed. At low micromolar concentrations, a highly emissive 1:1 CB8•PMI1 complex with high binding affinity (Ka=1.5 x 107 M–1) was formed in water. Interestingly, at higher concentrations of the CB8•PMI1 complex (e. g., >10–4 M), non‐emissive self‐assembled nanowires were formed. In comparison, the binding affinity of CB8•PMI2 and CB8•PMI3 was determined to be only 5.0 x 105 M–1 and 1.7 x 104 M–1, respectively. The host‐guest complexes with various binding affinities could serve as fluorescent displacement probes for the detection of a range of CB8‐binding guest analytes.