The kinetics of polyelectrolyte hydrogel collapse in water solutions of CuSO4 was studied. It was shown that the equilibrium degree of contraction essentially depends on the route by which the equilibrium is attained. The hydrogel kinetics of collapse in solutions of polyvalent metal salts is interpreted from the point of view of two different mechanisms of gel collapse. The transition from one mechanism to the other one is determined by the time of hydrogel interaction with the salt solution and by its concentration.