Aqueous solutions of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) containing different amounts of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) were gamma irradiated from a Co-60 source to form PVA–EDTA hydrogels. The effect of irradiation dose and EDT Acontent on the specific viscosity (in feed), gel percentage and equilibrium degree of swelling (EDS) was investigated. The amount of EDTAin the hydrogel matrix was found to be considerably lower than in the feed composition. Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) technique was used to determine the amount of Pb(II), Cd(II) and Hg(II) absorbed by the hydrogel. The incorporation of EDTAmoieties onto PVA network results in a hydrogel which has absorption affinity for Pb(II)and Cd(II).Themaximumchelatingcapacities of the hydrogelwere observed to be 8.5mg/g for Pb(II) and 4.2mg/g for Cd(II).No affinityforabsorption of Hg(II)by the hydrogel was observed. The thermal stabilities of the prepared hydrogels were characterized by TGA. The efficiency of EDTAin the hydrogel matrix for chelation was observed to be approximately 10% of that of pure EDTAin solution.