In this article, the cellulose-chitosan interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) films were prepared and fabricated as the electro-active paper actuator. The characteristics of the cellulose-chitosan IPN films were examined by SEM, FT-IR, XRD, DSC, and tensile test. The performance of the IPNs based actuator was evaluated in terms of bending displacement with respect to the actuation frequency, voltages, humidity levels, chitosan content, and time variation. It was observed that with chitosan content increasing in the IPNs, the crystallinity decreased and the network became denser, which caused the Young's modulus to increase. Chitosan content in IPNs also significantly affected the bending performance. The optimum IPN weight ratio of cellulose and chitosan was 60 : 40. The maximum bending displacement of 7.2 mm was found at 80% relative humidity level. In terms of durability, the bending lifetime at 70% humidity level was about 10 h with 17%) performance degradation. More issues on the actuator performance and durability are addressed. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 288-297, 2009