Abstract: Compared to other types of dressings, hydrogels are widely recognized as an optimal choice for wound care due to their superior biocompatibility and high water content. As a novel class of antibacterial materials, hydrogel wound dressings can effectively extend the duration of antibacterial activity and demonstrate promising potential in facilitating tissue regeneration and wound healing. A composite hydrogel (PCE) consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and chitosan (CS), loaded with different mass fractions of ε-polylysine (ε-PL), was prepared using a cyclic freeze-thaw method. Subsequently, the surface morphology, thermal stability, swelling property, antibacterial property and cytotoxicity of PCE composite hydrogels were comprehensively discussed. The results showed that there was a hydrogen bond interaction among ε-PL, CS and PVA. The pore size of the composite hydrogel initially decreased and then increased with the increasing of ε-PL mass fraction. The addition of ε-PL improves the thermal stability of the PCE composite hydrogel. As the mass fraction of ε-PL increased, the swelling rate of the composite hydrogel showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing, which correlated with the changes in pore size. It is worth noting that when the mass fraction of ε-PL reached 0.6%, the swelling rate of the hydrogel reached 651.7% after 24 h, indicating that the hydrogel had excellent swelling performance. This performance facilitates gas exchange, effectively absorbs wound exudate, maintains appropriate humidity conditions for wound healing, and promotes wound healing, and promotes overall recovery. Furthermore, the PCE hydrogel showed complete antibacterial activity against both Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Additionally, the PCE composite hydrogel exhibits good cell compatibility. The prepared PCE composite hydrogel has potential value in wound dressing applications.