The objective of the study is to impart temperature and pH-sensitive capabilities to polysaccharide-based hydrogels, so that theycan change their swelling property upon external stimulation like temperature or/and pH. Dextran was chosen as the modelpolysaccharide compound for such a demonstration. A novel class of dextran-maleic anhydride (Dex-MA)/poly(Nisopropylacrylamide) hybrid hydrogels was designed and synthesized by UV photocrosslinking. The dextran-based precursor (Dex-MA) was prepared by substitutingthe hydroxyl groups in Dex by MA. This Dex-MA precursor was then photocrosslinkedwith a known temperature sensitive precursor (N-isopropylacrylamide, NIPAAm) to form hybrid hydrogels having a wide range ofcomposition ratio of Dex-MA to NIPAAm precursors. Due to the biodegradable nature of dextran, these Dex-MA/PNIPAAmhybrid hydrogels are partially biodegradable. These smart hybrid hydrogels were characterized by Fourier transform infraredspectroscopy for structural determination, differential scanningcalorimertry for thermal property, maximum swellingratio, swellingkinetics, temperature response kinetics, and effect of pH. The data obtained clearly show that these new smart hybrid hydrogels wereresponsive to the external changes of temperature as well as pH. The magnitude of smart and hydrogel properties of these hybridhydrogels were found to depend on the feed composition ratio of the two precursors. By changing the composition ratio of these twoprecursors, the phase transition temperature (lower critical solution temperature) of the hybrid hydrogels could also be adjusted tobe or near the body temperature for the potential applications in bioengineering and biotechnology fields.