We report the immobilization of nickel nanoparticles on the surface of cellulose-grated reduced graphite oxide sheets (rGO). The decoration of GO with magnetic nickel nanoparticles was conducted in three steps. First, pure graphite oxide (GO) was functionnalized by cellulose. Then, the corresponding material was doped with Ni nanoparticles (NiNPs) using NiCl2.6H(2)O followed by a chemical reduction in presence of hydrazine. The resulting NiNPs/cellulose-grafted rGO material with a 20 wt% NiNPs content was found to be nearly ferroramagnetic. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 58:1630-1635, 2018. (c) 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers