Partition of D-xylose between ion-exchange resins and different water-ethanol mixtures at 298 K was studied. Gel-type sulfonated poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) resins cross-linked with 4 or 8 wt % divinylbenzene and carrying Na+, Ca2+, or La3+ as the counterion were used as the absorbent phases. Sorption of D-xylose increases with decreasing water mole fraction in the solvent mixture, irrespective of the resin. The increasing sorption is explained by the selective water uptake of the resin and the far better solubility of D-xylose in water than in ethanol. At high water contents, sorption of D-xylose increases with decreasing cross-link density, while the enhanced water selectivity of the densely cross-linked resin improves sorption at low water contents. The experimental data were compared with the literature data for D-glucose. Complexation of both sugars with the metal ions studied is shown to be negligible, and the sugars are absorbed more effectively by the resin loaded with the less solvated univalent counterion. The sorption model based on the UNIQUAC equation and the affine network theory of elasticity explains satisfactorily sorption of individual components from the ternary water-ethanol-sugar solutions.