Rocent advances between 1985 and esrly 1993 in the following topics of the charscterisstion of molecular structure and molecular properties of cellulose and its derlvstes (CD) msde in the authors' iaboratories are briefly reviewed: (1) A theoretical basis of the sssignment of carbonyl csrbon pesks of % NMR spectrs on cellulose scotate (CAI was given. especially when the total degree of substitution ctF>, is below 3. (2) Molsr fractions of 8 kinds of unsubstituted and partiaily or fully substituted anhydroglucopyrsnose units were successfully determined for CA and sodium celiulose sulfate (NaCS). (3) The sequence distribution of substituted snd unsubstituted anhydrogiucopyranose units dong a water-soluble CA chain was evaluated. (4) C,-substitutedKe., 6-0-acetyl) CA and C2-snd C,-substituted CA were synthesized, and the full assignment of the 13C NMR spetrum of the former wss given snd a new method for evaluating the degree of substitution at C , position was proposed.( 5 ) By destructing the intramolecular hydrogen bonding, ceilulose becomes soluble in aq.sodium hydroxide. The specific supermolecular structure of aq. sodium hydroxide, dissolving mechanism, dissolved state and moiecuisr psrameters of cellulose in aq. sodium hydroxide were discussed. ( 8 ) The solubility behavior of CA with a wide range of total degree of substitution in solvents including water, acetone/water snd acetone is controlled by the distribution of substitution and the supermoiecular structure. (7) The existence of 0, -H ... 0, intramolecular hydrogen bonds in a water-insoluble celiulos* derivative with hydrophiiic substituent (NaCEC) wss confirmed by CP/MAS "C NMR snd deuterstlon IR method. At a relatively low degree of substitution the solubility of the derivative in water or aqueous aikali was mainly governed by considerable destruction of the intrsmoieclar hydrogen bonds. ( 8 ) Tho persistence length q, evaluated directly by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) on CA with different tots1 degree of substitution c t h , ranging from 0.8 to 2,9 confirmed definitely the conclusion drswn before by Kamide and Saito on the moieculsr rigidity of CD, aspeciaiiy the effect of ttF>> on q. (9) C,-substituted CA shows different solubility towards dlmethyiscetamide and water at 2 0 OC, as compared with C , -and C3-subsituted CA snd C , -, C , -and C , -substitutedCA, whose ctF,, is ca. 0.6.