Zn 1-x Mn x Se / ZnSe strained layer sperlattices are grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs(100) substrates and characterized by X ray diffraction and low temperature photoluminescence. The main emission peaks in photoluminescence spectra can be attributed to the free exciton between the lowest electron subband and ground light hole subband of the ZnSe well. For the case where the total thickness of a Zn 1-x Mn x Se / ZnSe superlattice is well bellow the critical value, the structure grows pseudomorphically to the buffer layer. The ZnSe well layer is free of strain and the Zn 1-x Mn x Se layer is under compressive strain. A blue shift of 6 meV of the excitonic peak is observed and has been explained by the carrier confinement effect only. For the case of a Zn 1-x Mn x Se / ZnSe superlattice with a thickness larger than its critical values, we show that it can be treated as free standing with ZnSe under tension and Zn 1-xMnxSe under compression. The strain present can overwhelm the quantum cofinement to produce a net red shift of 2 meV of the near band-edge feature. The energy shifts due to the strain and quantum confinement are calculated on the basis of deformation potential theory and Bastard's method, showing good agreement with the experimental results.