The influences of the deacetylation temperature, deacetylation time, and NaOH concentration on the degree of deacetylation (DD) of deacetylated products prepared from beta-chitin are discussed. The DD values of deacetylated products are related to the ratio of the signal intensities of methyl on acetyl groups and the first anomeric carbon, which are obtained from C-13-NMR spectra. The results show that the DD values of deacetylated product increase as the NaOH concentration, deacetylation time, or deacetylation temperature increases. The thermal properties, chemical structures, and crystalline characteristic of deacetylated products are significantly related to their DD values. Differential scanning calorimetry shows that the peak temperature is slightly increased as the DD values of deacetylated products of beta-chitin increase. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that the thermal degradation onset temperature of deacetylated products decreases as the DD values increase. Fourier transform infrared spectra show that the intensity of a specific absorption peak of -NH2 in deacetylated products significantly increases as DD increases. X-ray diffraction patterns of deacetylated products with DD values of 17.5 and 44.7% have three significant diffraction peaks. However, there are only two diffraction peaks found in products with higher DD values of 76.5 and 94.7%. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.