The present invention provides for photonic nanoimprinted silk fibroin-based materials and methods for making same, comprising embossing silk fibroin-based films with photonic nanometer scale patterns. In addition, the invention provides for processes by which the silk fibroin-based films can be nanoimprinted at room temperature, by locally decreasing the glass transition temperature of the silk film. Such nanoimprinting process increases high throughput and improves potential for incorporation of silk-based photonics into biomedical and other optical devices.