The effect of gold nanoparticles on the fluorescence spontaneous emission of CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) is investigated based on the time-correlated single photon counting technique. The quantum dot samples coupled with gold nanoparticles effectively are prepared. The fluorescence lifetime of QDs with a high concentration is measured, and it is found that the fluorescence lifetime of QDs can be significantly reduced by the gold nanoparticles. The fluorescence properties of a single QD are also studied and it is found that the fluorescence lifetime of the quantum dot coupled with gold nanoparticles is reduced to about one percent of that without gold nanoparticles. The effects of the polarization direction of QDs, the distance between the QDs and the gold nanoparticles, the diameters of gold nanoparticles and other parameters on the fluorescence spontaneous emission rate of QDs are investigated by the numerical calculation.