CdTe nanoparticle (NP)/poly(vinylcarbazole) (PVK) functional composite (composite 1) was synthesized via in-situ method. The composite was characterized by using Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), photoluminescence (PL), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) instruments. The PL properties of composite 1 were compared with CdTe NP/carbazole containing polymer composites (composite 2 and composite 3) which were prepared through the electrostatic interaction between preformed NPs and carbazole-containing polymers. The efficient electron transfer (ET) made composite 1 possess the lowest PL quantum yield (QY), the part ET made composite 2 applicable in white-light illumination, and the Förster resonant energy transfer (FRET) made composite 3 possess the highest QY. The large difference in their PL properties was mainly resulted from the distance and the nature of interaction between NPs and polymers. These experimental results indicated that the composites with different function could be obtained just by varying the method of preparation.