In this report, we present a simple approach to fabricate the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) that can be effectively harvest irregular mechanical energy and the energy used to drive a small commercial electronic component. The device exhibited the maximum open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of 6.3 V and 0.635 μA respectively, with maximum output power of 178 nW. In addition, we measured the performance of the fabricated device with different load resistance. Finally, the fabricated PDMS-based triboelectric nanogenerator can directly drive 10 commercial LEDs connected in series, when the force is applied to the device through finger. These results demonstrate the potential application of PDMS-based triboelectric nanogenerator for self-powered systems. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.