To chemically attach beta-cyclodextrin (CD) molecules to cotton cellulose, N-methylol-acrylamide (NMA) was used to synthesize a CD containing monomer, which was then grafted onto cellulose fibers. Initiation of the cotton cellulose backbone with ceric ion before the addition of acrylamidomethyl cyclodextrin (CD-NMA) monomer was shown to be beneficial for grafting onto cotton cellulose by studying the reactions of eerie ion with CD, CD-NMA, or cotton cellulose. The amount of chemically attached CD was determined by fluorescence measurements and compared with graft yields. The possibility of textile finishing of CD containing cotton fibers was investigated using benzoic acid as an antibacterial finishing agent or vanillin as an aroma finishing agent. Antibacterial activity of benzoic acid-treated samples were retained even after 10 laundering cycles and the vanillin fragrance lasted much longer compared with the control sample, suggesting that utilization of CD in functional textile finishing is indeed possible.