In this work, carbon dots/hydroxyapatite (CD-HAP) nanocomposite has been synthesized and used as drug carrier for acetaminophen. Carbon dots are synthesized from a biowaste precursor, which is sugarcane bagasse char using hydrothermal method. The synthesis of carbon dots is studied under four different temperatures of 150, 170, 190, and 210 °C. The fluorescence behaviour of carbon dots is greatest at an optimum temperature of 190 °C. Carbon dots with the best fluorescence properties are merged with the hydroxyapatite. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis confirms the formation of spherical nanodots with average diameter of 7.5 nm. The field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis confirms the formation of rod-shaped hydroxyapatite with an average diameter of 142 nm. Elemental analysis shows a Ca/P ratio of 1.71, which is close to Ca/P ratio of 1.67 found in natural bone, indicating the biocompatibility of the nanocomposite. Elemental analysis also shows an increase in carbon weight percentage in CD-HAP when compared with blank HAP, proving the formation of carbon dots in the nanocomposite. The pairing of carbon dots and hydroxyapatite improved the fluorescence of composite greatly, as well as the surface area from 41.631 to 78.752 m2/g. The drug loading and release performance is evaluated by loading acetaminophen into the nanocomposite. CD-HAP-40 gives the highest loading capacity of 48.5. Acetaminophen release is slower in CD-HAP-20, and the release kinetics fits the Higuchi model. This finding shows that the acetaminophen is released via a diffusion mechanism. Figure not available: see fulltext. © 2019, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.