The hydrophilicity of a poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabric was greatly modified by using dilute sulfuric acid, which gradually became concentrated enough to sulfonate the fabric when microwave irradiation (MW) was applied. The modified PET fabric was super-hydrophilic. Modifying the fabric caused the water contact angle to decrease from 132.46 (for the unmodified fabric) to 0, the water absorption rate to increase from 36.45 to 119.78%, and the capillary rise height to increase from 0.4 to 14.4 cm. The hydrophilicity of the modified PET fabric was not affected by washing it many times. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses showed that there were sulfonic acid groups on the modified fibers. Almost no difference between the surfaces of the unmodified and modified PET fibers was found using scanning electron microscopy. Analysis by differential scanning calorimetry showed that the unmodified and modified fabrics had similar thermostabilities. X-ray diffraction analysis of the crystalline structures of the unmodified and modified fibers showed that they were almost the same. The strength, elasticity, and rigidity of the unmodified fabric were retained by the modified fabric. The modified fabric had better dyeing properties than the unmodified fabric. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.