In the present work, a composite material formed by bacterial cellulose (BC) and graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized and characterized. GO was added in the bacteria culture media and then the bacteria was inoculated. The BC/GO pellets composite was prepared into the bacteria culture media and vibrated in Erlenmeyer flask. Characterization of the BC/GO composite showed GO nanosheets embedded in the nanofibers network of BC. The experiments in this study demonstrated BC and GO effectively interacted by hydrogen bonding. Moreover, the cytotoxicity assays showed the material had a better biocompatibility than the counterparts and promoted the cell proliferation excellently. The biocompatibility of BC/GO has the potential to be used for drug delivery. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.