Abstract:Microcapsules of 2-phenylethanol were prepared through complex coacervation method，using carboxymethyl chitosan（CMC）and sodium alginate（SA）as the wall materials.The effects of amounts of CMC and SA on the content of 2-phenylethanol were investigated to determine the optimum preparation conditions.The rapid released of 2-phenylethanol from microcapsules at different temperatures and the changed of water absorption，surface morphology and sustained released properties of microcapsules during long-term storage were measured. The highest content of 2-phenylethanol was 1.42 % in the microcapsules prepared under the optimum preparation conditions. Using CoCl2 as an indicator，microcapsules of CoCl2 were prepared under the same conditions and used to visually and accurately investigate the quantitative relationship between water absorption and color change of microcapsules. The color of microcapsules of CoCl2 changed from blue to red as the water absorption increased during storage. The relationship between water absorption and color change was quadratic curve relationship.