AbstractThe hydrogenation of acrylonitrile–butadiene rubber (NBR) latex was carried out by a system consisting of hydrazine hydrate and hydrogen peroxide, with boric acid as catalyst. Highly saturated hydrogenated NBR (HNBR) latex was obtained through the optimization of the reaction conditions. The dried HNBR was found to be heavily gelled. The cause for the crosslink of dried hydrogenated NBR products was investigated. With the improvement of the hydrogenation system, that is, by adding gel inhibitor to the system, the crosslinking was controlled to a large extent, and dried HNBR with gel content of about 3% was prepared by the improved system. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 91: 2072–2078, 2004