Abstract. Stars in the post-asymptotic giant branch (post-AGB) phase of evolution are surrounded by detached circumstellar envelopes containing dust which emits thermally in the mid- and far-infrared. Here we present 850-μm SCUBA photometry of nine candidate post-AGB stars. All targets are detected at 850 μm and we use these fluxes to estimate the envelope dust masses and, by comparison with the 100-μm IRAS fluxes, the dust emissivity index.