Abstract We have investigated the viscoelastic properties of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) gels loaded with a polyelectrolyte particle of poly(styrene -co- sodium styrene sulfonate) to find the effect of electric charges on the storage modulus of the gel. The storage modulus decreased with increasing volume fraction of particles, and it was independent of the strain, indicating linear viscoelasticity. The viscoelastic properties of PVA gels containing non-charged particles of aluminium hydroxides were also studied. While the degree of swelling kept a constant value, the storage modulus largely increased with the volume fraction. PVA gels containing noncharged particles underwent a large nonlinear viscoelastic response suggesting the particles connect each other in the gel. Viscoelastic properties of the PVA gel loaded with charged and non-charged particles have also been discussed.