Membranes of poly (acrylonitrile-co-acrylic acid) (PAAN) made by phase inversion technique in the presence of naringin showed molecular recognition behaviour towards the template molecule. The interactions of the carboxylic groups of the polymer chain played an important role in the discrimination process. Simple prolonged washing with ethanolic acetic acid solution regenerated the membrane without any loss of the binding capacity. No recognition properties were detected for membranes made without the imprinted molecule.