AbstractCommercial cellulose diacetate with a degree of substitution (DS) of 2.45 was partly deacetylated to cellulose acetate (CA) with different DSs by acid-catalyzed hydrolysis and then reacted with 1-naphthoyl chloride (NpCl) to synthesize CA naphthoate (CANp). Fourier transform infrared and 1H-NMR were used to characterize the chemical structure of CANp. The DS of naphthoate moiety (DSCANp) could be varied from 0.18 to 0.98 by adjusting the molar ratio of –OH in CA unit to NpCl, the DS of CA (DSCA), and the reaction time and temperature. When DSCA was 2.01 and the molar ratio was 1:6, the maximum DSCANp of the product was achieved after a reaction at 80°C for 2 h. With the increase of DSCANp, the thermal stability decreased slightly whereas the anti-ultraviolet property was enhanced. Moreover, the obtained films containing CANp exhibited good ultraviolet resistance as well as chemical resistance.