In the light of the principle of aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE), the rubrene analogue with orange light-emitting properties is designed and synthesized by substituting the phenyl side groups of rubrene with thienyl groups. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the synthesis of rubrene with AIEE behaviour, thus paving the way for the development of light-emitting rubrene derivatives. This journal is