Opened carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were immersed in radioactive (125I)NaI and (110Agm)AgNO3 solutions
and then washing and elution were carried out. Observation with high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM) and X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) revealed that the soluble inorganic salt could be filled into CNTs by using the simple method described in this paper. The results indicate that radioactive tracing is an effective technique to study the filling and release behaviors of of CNTs.