Nonionic hydrogels bearing glucoside residues were synthesized by free-radical copolymerization of glucosylethyl methacrylate (GEMA) and N,N’-methylenebisacrylamide (BisA) at 0-degrees-C for 2 h using ammonium peroxodisulfate and N,N,N’,N’-tetramethylethylenediamine as the initiator. The cross-linked polymer gel was obtained quantitatively. The nonionic gels absorbed 30 times as much water as their own weight. Copolymerization of GEMA, sodium acrylate, and BisA gave anionic hydrogels, which absorbed ca. 100 times as much water as their own weight at pH 6.5. The swelling behavior of the nonionic and the anionic hydrogels bearing glucose residues was studied in detail.