The aqueous swelling kinetics of a series of crosslinked chitosan (cr-CS) with glutaraldehyde (GA) interpenetrating polyether hydrogels have been studied as functions of pH, the N-deacetylation degree of chitosan, the amount of crosslinking agent, the electrolyte composition in solution, temperature, and gel composition. Based on these results, the swelling mechanism of the hydrogels was discussed. The release profiles of chlorhexidini acetas from the semi-IPN were also investigated.