Different from the conventional method of developing stimuli-sensitive textiles by graft copolymerization of environmental responsive polymers onto the fabric, the coating technique was applied to bond temperature-ensitive hydrogels with cotton fabric through chemical covalent in our work. A temperature-sensitive linear copolymer of N-tert-butylacrylamide (NTBA) and acrylamide (AAm) was prepared in methanol. Then, the cotton fabrics were coated using an aqueous solution of this copolymer containing 1,2,3,4-butanetertracarboxylic acid as a crosslinker and sodium hypophosphite (SHP) as a catalyst, followed by drying and Curing. The Surface of the cotton fabrics was bonded on more or less coatings of poly (NTBA-co-AAm) hydrogels, as verified by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy images. The poly(NTBA-co-AAm) hydrogels-coated fabrics exhibited temperature sensitive, and the temperature interval of the deswelling transition was higher than lower critical solution temperature of linear copolymer solution. The coated fabrics presented good water-impermeable ability because of the swelling of hydrogels bonded, especially when the add-on was as high as 14.14%. Environmental scanning electron microscopy images revealed that coating hydrogels swelled and covered on the surface as a barrier to prevent water from penetrating once the coated fabric came into contact with water. The findings demonstrate that the temperature-sensitive hydrogels can be covalently bonded on the cotton fabrics by coating technique and the coated fabrics have potential on immersion fabrics. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 112: 2656-2662, 2009