Drying is the essential process in the preparation of chitosan and may have important effects on energy-consumption and its physical and chemical properties. In order to find low-energy-consumption and high-efficiency drying method, the drying characteristics of chitosan under infrared ray were studied. The results show that temperature has more noticeable influences on the drying rate of chitosan than granularity. With the increase of temperature, the drying rate increases. The results by ultraviolet radiation spectrum, viscosity and FTIR spectra show that the degree of deacetylation,molecular weight and molecular structure have few changes at 120℃ drying temperature. The drying kinetics model accurately describing the drying process was derived from the experimental data. The experiment curves agree well with those from the model.