Collagen-based composite nerve conduit scaffold was prepared by freeze-drying steam-extrusion method and modified chemically with glutaraldehyde (GTA) by adding chitosan into collagen. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the collagen and chitosan are certainly crosslinked through GTA. It was observed under scanning electron microscope that the modified nerve conduit material is a porous three-dimensional crosslinked structure and the quantity ratio of the collagen to chitosan has influence on the morphology. The cell proliferation experiment results showed that the collagen-based composite scaffold prompts the adhesion and proliferation of cells, but as the chitosan increasing, the cell proliferation decreased slightly. The swelling property, the collagenase degradation, and the mechanical property of the scaffold are tested at the quantity ratios of collagen to chitosan 4 : 3, 3 : 1, and 4 : 1. and crosslinking time 0.5 and 1.0 h. The experiments show that the stability of the scaffold is enhanced with decreasing the quantity ratio of collagen to chitosan and increasing crosslinking time. Through the experimental investigations, the modifying technique parameters are discussed and the scaffold exhibits better physical and chemical properties at the quantity ratio of collagen to chitosan 3 : 1 and crosslinking time 0.5 h. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 112: 3652-3662, 2009