Abstract In this study, multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) loaded polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) membranes were synthesized and applied for desalination by means of pervaporation technique. Membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM). Sorption studies were carried out to determine the degree of swelling of the MWCNT/PVA membranes into different types of salt solution. Pervaporation experiments were carried using the pristine and MWCNT loaded membranes. The effect of MWCNT concentration and salt concentration on the swelling, flux and salt rejection were investigated at the constant temperature of 40 °C. As a result, greater than 92% of rejections were obtained using all membrane. The highest flux was obtained using 0.3 wt% MWCNT loaded membrane with the highest rejection of 98.8%. SEM analysis confirmed that the excess amount of particles caused agglomeration and negatively affected the desalination performance.