Chitosan powders and fibrids were prepared by shear precipitation of dissolved chitosan in a coagulating solution of sodium hydroxide. Following neutralization by washing and an alcohol dehydration step, the white to off-white powders were fine and free flowing. The dried fibrids had a highly oriented, ribbon-like shape that in bulk gave a lofty appearance and soft hand. Chitosan fibrids were readily converted to sheet structures by typical papermaking procedures. The resulting chitosan papers were either smooth, flexible, and largely translucent when pressed dry from the moist mat, or were soft and opaque white when the moist mat was soaked in alcohol before drying. X-ray diffraction, SEM, and optical microscopy were used to characterize the different chitosan powders, fibrids, and papers. Chitosan fibrid papers were found to have tensile properties comparable to that of cellulosic papers, though the wet strength and water sorption of chitosan fibrid papers was higher than that of the cellulose controls.