Light emission at approximately 415 nm was observed for gold particles with diameters of 2.6-6.0 nm dispersed in a solution containing bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate and hydrogen peroxide. It was found that the light intensity was independent of the protecting reagents of the gold nanoparticles with similar size, the light intensity with gold nanoparticles of 5.0 and 6.0 nm in diameter was stronger than that with gold nanoparticles of 2.6 and 2.8 nm in diameter, and the light intensity increased linearly with the concentration of the gold nanoparticles using 6.0-nm gold nanoparticles. The gold nanoparticles were identified as emitting species, and the quantum yield was determined to be (2.8 +/- 0.3) x 10(-5) using 6.0-nm gold nanoparticles. The light emission is suggested to involve a sequence of steps: the oxidation reaction of bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate with hydrogen peroxide yielding an energy-rich intermediate 1,2-dioxetanedione, the energy transfer from this intermediate to gold nanoparticles, and the radiative relaxation of the as-formed exited-state gold nanoparticles. The observed luminescence is expected to find applications in the field of bioanalysis owing to the excellent biocompatibility and relatively high stability of gold nanoparticles.