A novel method for preparing complex beads composed of hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HPAM) and chitosan, based on the electrostatic attraction between -COO- of HPAM and Al3+ and between -COO- and -NH3+ of chitosan, was established. In the two-stage crosslinking process, first Al3+ was used as a crosslinking agent for the crosslinking of HPAM molecules, which were used as the skeleton structure of the gel beads. In the second stage, chitosan diffused into the skeleton structure. The gel beads were characterized with scanning electron microscopy, inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. There was a chitosan component in the gel beads, and these gel beads had porous and rough surfaces. The swelling properties of the HPAM-chitosan gel beads were measured in water, in acidic, neutral, and alkaline buffers, and in different saline solutions. The swelling ratio was as high as 3675 g/g in water and 170 g/g in a 0.15 mol/L NaCl solution. The beads showed pH sensitivity in buffers of different pH values and salt sensitivity in different saline solutions. The order of the equilibrium absorbency of the gel beads in different saline solutions was Na+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > Al3+. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 116: 3338-3345, 2010