Chitosan fibers have in recent years found applications in various fields such as antimicrobial textiles and wound dressings. In this study, chitosan fibers with different degrees of acetylation were prepared by controlling the ratio between the amount of acetic anhydride and the weight of the fibers during the acetylation process. The absorption and antimicrobial properties, as well as the dry and wet strength of nonwoven chitosan wound dressings with different degrees of acetylation were studied. Results showed that the partially acetylated chitosan wound dressing had a much higher absorption capacity than the original untreated chitosan samples, while there was a reduction in the wet strength and antimicrobial property for the partially acetylated chitosan nonwoven dressing. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.