The chelate molecule, ethylenediamine, was incorporated onto the surface of ramie fiber via sequential reactions of the hydroxyl groups on ramie fiber with epichlorohydrin followed by the chelating agent. The performance of the modified material (CelNH) was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FI-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron micrographs (SEM), thermogravimetry analysis (TGA), UV–Vis, and elemental analysis. Results show that the excellent characteristics of the raw fiber were still remained after modification although the crystallinity of the modified fiber decreased. The modification parameters were optimized as the concentration of ethylenediamine of 0.75 mol/l, the temperature of 50 C, and the reaction time of 5 h. Meanwhile, the dye of C.I. reactive red 2 was used to study the dyeability of the raw and the modified fibers. The color strength and the dye uptake of the modified fiber increased obviously with an increase in the nitrogen contents in CelNH. The color strength and the dye uptake of the modified fiber can be controlled by changing the extent of surface modification of raw ramie fiber.