The grafting yield of N,N ' -dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) on cotton cellulose fabric increased with grafting time, absorbed dose, and concentration of the monomer in the aqueous solution, but decreased with grafting temperature. The dose rate had a small effect on the grafting yield. The optimal grafting yields of DMAEMA on cotton cellulose were rather low, approximately 50% compared with N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm), although both monomers could be synthesized to be thermally reversible hydrogels. The relationship between the grafting yield and the grafting temperature indicated that the trapped radicals located in the interphases between crystalline and amorphous regions of irradiated samples were the main active species inducing the grafting reaction.