Poly(vinyl alcohol)/hydroxylapatite(PVA/HA)composite hydrogel was prepared by repeated freezing and thawing.Thewater loss properties of the resultant hydrogel were investigated by using optical microscope.Long time immersion tests ofPVA/HA composite hydrogel were carried out in the diluted calf serum solution to study the change laws of swelling propertieswith the freezing-thawing cycles and HA content.The micro-morphologies of PVA/HA composite hydrogel after long timeimmersion were observed by means of the high-accuracy 3D profiler.The results show that the swelling process of PVA/HAcomposite hydrogel is the converse process of its water loss.Long time swelling ratio curves of PVA/HA composite hydrogel inthe calf serum solution are manifested as four stages of quick increase,decrease,slow decrease and stable balance,and itsequilibrium swelling ratio decreases with the increase of freezing-thawing cycles and HA content.It is revealed that the networkstructure of the composite hydrogel immersed for a long period is significantly improved with the increase of HA content.Perfect network structures of PVA/HA composite hydrogel as well as full and equilibrium tissues after swelling equilibrium areobtained when the HA content is 3% and the number of freezing-thawing cycles is 7.