Jute (Corchorus capsularis) based natural fiber composites were prepared by a series of experiments such as pulping, bleaching, and grafting with butyl acrylate (BA) together with a crosslinker, N,N'-methylene-bis-acrylamide (MBA) and finally embedding the copolymer with sodium silicate (SS) additive using a complex initiating system CuSO4/histidine/potassium peresulfate (KPS). The (crosslinked jute pulp-g-PBA)/SS composites so obtained were characterized by FT-IR and TGA, and their morphology was imaged by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tensile properties, superabsorbency, and biodegradability of these composites in soil and sludge water were evaluated for their novel commercial importance as jute-based superabsorbents. The water absorption of the grafted composites with SS was more than 35 times greater than that of the ungrafted fiber. The biodegradability of the grafted crosslinked composite with SS was lower than the other samples due to dispersed silicate layers in the composite matrix. (C) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.