In this paper, folic acid conjugated silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are developed for enhancing antibacterial activity. Here triethylamine is used as a capping agent as well as reducing agent during the synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Folic acid is conjugated on the surface of the functionalized silver nanoparticles through electrostatic interaction. The folic acid conjugated silver nanoparticles are characterized in terms of size and morphology by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) respectively. The phase formation and surface functional groups of nanoparticles are analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy respectively. Minimum inhibitory concentration study, minimum bactericidal concentration, growth pattern analysis and fluorescence carbon dot tagged nanoparticles uptake study reveal that the folic acid conjugated silver nanoparticles show good prospects against both Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureus) bacteria.