A series of temperature-responsive hydrogels were prepared by grafting oligo(N-isopropylacrylamide) (ONIPAAm) chains onto a crosslinked poly(acrylic acid) (PAAc) network, intending an application to drug delivery systems (DDS). Cloud points and swelling ratios of the obtained PAAc-graft-ONIPAAm gels were measured as a function of temperature under various pH conditions. At pH > 4.5, the clear cloud points were observed at 31-33 degrees C, which were almost the same values as that of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), whereas swelling/shrinkage phenomenon was not observed in the temperature range 25-45 degrees C. It seemed that grafted ONIPAAm chains underwent the coil-to-globule transition, while the crosslinked PAAc network remained unchanged, due to the anionic charges on the main chains. In the presence of NaCl in the buffer solution, the phase transition temperature was slightly lowered. To assess the applicability of these temperature-responsive PAAc-graft-ONIPAAm gels to DDS, permeability of theophylline through the gel membranes was measured as a function of temperature. At a temperature below the cloud point, the permeability of theophylline was low, whereas it was high at an elevated temperature above the cloud point.