The polarization characteristics of light emitting porous Si films is investigated. The degree of polarization increases to well over 20% when the excitation wavelength is at the blue edge of the emission band and decreases with decreasing excitation wavelength. The steady‐state value of the degree of polarization is established in less than 1 &mgr;s. The experimental results bear qualitative agreement with a quantum‐wire model. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.