In this study, cellulose/alginic acid blend solutions were prepared with 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride as solvent. The effect of cellulose/alginic acid blend ratios on the rheological properties was studied. It was found that the viscosity and dynamic modulus decreased with the increase of alginic acid ratio. And the calculated viscosity values, which were obtained from the log-additivity rule, are less than the experimental viscosity values. This may be caused by the hydrogen bonding interaction between cellulose and alginic acid, which is beneficial to the miscibility of the blends. In order to prove the rheological result, cellulose/calcium alginate films were prepared from the solution, the hydrogen bonding between cellulose and alginate were investigated, which was related to the good miscibility of the blend solutions. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2019. (c) 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers