To improve the optoelectronic properties for the photorefractive devices can enable the wide application of nanostructured liquid crystal (LC) in optical information processing, optical imaging, and optical modulating systems. Especially, the quantum dots (QDs) based on photorefractive effect plays a key role in improving the energy efficiency and color quality for their ability to modify the properties of the bulk materials. In this paper, we propose a QD-doped LC device illuminated by a laser standing evanescent wave (LSEW) field with subwavelength period of 180 nm. Combined with the electric tuning, the obtained optical diffraction pattern of equally spaced light spots indicated that a regular, periodic grating was formed in the QD-doped LC volume. The measured maximum diffraction efficiency of 30 % identified the large change of the refractive index of the nanostructured QD-doped LC device. Our results demonstrate a novel method to design and fabricate rewritable optoelectronic devices with highly precise controlled photorefractive LC structures. •A novel design method for quantum dots (QDs) doped - LC device with LSEW fields illumination.•Opto-electrical tuning the optical diffraction pattern in the QD-doped LC volume.•The measured diffraction efficiency of 30 % identified the change of the refractive index of the nanostructured QD-doped LC device.