A carboxymethyl cellulose/poly(ethylene glycol)/acrylic acid (CMC/PEG/AA) superabsorbent composite was prepared in aqueous solution using glow-discharge electrolysis plasma (GDEP) induced graft copolymerization of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) and acrylic acid (AA), in which N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) was used as a crosslinker. The influences of temperature, various pH values and salts solutions on the equilibrium swelling ratio were studied in detail. The adsorption of methylene blue (MB) on the CMC/PEG/AA was preliminarily investigated. The results showed that the maximum equilibrium swelling ratio of CMC/PEG/AA in distilled water was 1115 g/g at 30 ℃. The CMC/PEG/AA superabsorbent composite was responsive to pH and salts, and it had excellent on-off switching behavior as reversible swelling and deswelling. In addition, the maximum adsorption capacity of CMC/PEG/AA for MB was 1878.8 mg/g. The adsorption kinetics fitted the pseudo-second-order model.