The effeet of the network structure on the swelling behavior of ethyl-cyanoethyl cellulose(E-CE)C/cross-linked polyacrylic acid(PAA) cholesteric liquid crystalline composite films was studied．It was found that the equilibrium swelling ratio (Rs(e)) of the composite films with different thickness is the same．The thicker film needs the longer time to reach the equilibrium swelling state．The (E-CE) C concentration of the composite films has little effect on Rs(e)

but Rs(e) decreases with increasing the concentration of the cross-linking reagent．It was indicated that with increasing the concentration of cross-linked reagent

the structure of the film becomes mole compact and it is more difficult to infiltrate water into the film．The time to reach the equilibrium state for the composite films with different concentration of cross-linking reagent is almost the same．