This paper describes an original technique aiming to improve the hydrophilic properties of polyester fibres. In this method, the sulfonation of the aromatic rings is carried out using gaseous sulfur trioxide activated by UV irradiations. Thus, exposing the polyester textile fabric to the UVC light (wavelength around 254 nm) under a stream of sulfur trioxide leads to the fixation of -SO3H groups. The amounts of the fixed sulfonate groups depended on the reaction conditions. Evidence of grafting deduced from the measurements of hygroscopic properties was carried out by contact angle measurement, moisture regain as well as by measuring the rate of retention. SEM and FT-IR analysis, DSC and DTA/TGA thermograms showed that no significant modifications have occurred in the bulk of the treated PET fabrics. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.