Luminescent carbon nanodots (CDots) have attracted much attention, but their luminescence is usually quenched in solid state. Efficient green or yellow emissive CDot-based phosphors are scarce. In this work, green emissive CDot@NaCl composite phosphors were fabricated through a convenient, low cost and eco-friendly way by embedding green emissive CDots (g-CDot) in NaCl crystals. With the protection of NaCl host, the g-CDot@NaCl composite phosphors exhibit good photostability, significant resistance to organic solvents, and improved photoluminescence quantum yields up to 25%. White light-emitting diodes with tunable color temperatures (3944-5478 K) and CIE coordinates have been realized based on the g-CDot@NaCl composite phosphors. (C) 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.