Metal-enhanced fluorescence has attracted enormous research and commercial interest in recent years, due to the ability to significantly enhance fluorescence signatures in the near-field as well as protect fluorophores against photobleaching. In this article, we address one of the major unresolved questions, whether far-field fluorophore quantum yield, Q 0 , has a direct relationship to fluorescence enhancement factors in metal-enhanced fluorescence. V C 2012 American Institute of Physics.