Poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) grafted polyethersulfone (PES) powder was prepared by gamma-ray irradiation-induced graft polymerization. The existing of the PMAA side chains in the grafted powder was proved by FT-IR spectroscopy. Then, pH dependent microfiltration (MF) membranes were cast from PES-g-PMAA powder with different degree of grafting (DG) under phase inversion method. The contact angle, mean pore size and swelling behavior of MF membranes were measured. The morphology was studied and the water filtration property was also tested. The results showed that the mean pore sizes and filtration properties of MF membranes cast from PES-g-PMAA powder varied with pH. In the most variant case, the flux of acid solution was about four times as that of basic solution for the MF membrane cast from PES-g-PMAA with DG of 20.0%. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.