An absorbent wound dressing comprises a hydrophilic porous substrate and polymer-stabilized silver nanoparticles distributed throughout the porous substrate. The silver nanoparticles have a particle size d50 in the range of about 45 nm to about 85 nm and the silver nanoparticles are present in the substrate in an amount of about 0.16% to about 1.5% by weight of the total weight of the substrate. The wound dressing produces a 7-day log reduction of 4 or more for bacteria in accordance with the Modified AATCC Test Method 100. The wound dressing is also non-cytotoxic in accordance with ISO 10993-5 standard procedure for medical device cytotoxicity assessment.