The influence of atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) treatment on the hydrophilicity of grey cotton knitted fabric (GCKF) was investigated. For comparison, specimens which had undergone different treatments were tested by contact angle measurement, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fourier-transform infrared attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results imply that helium/oxygen APPJ could improve the hydrophilicity of GCKF by modifying the surface properties. In addition, combining dewaxing processes with He/O-2 APPJ treatment was found to tremendously improve the hydrophilicity of GCKF. The mechanism of this was also confirmed by Ruthenium Red staining which showed most of pectic substances inside the cotton fiber existed beneath the waxy layer and on top of the cellulose microfibril. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.