Dyeing of wool fabrics with natural dyes from Phytolacca berries has been studied. The effect of dye concentration, dye bath pH, dyeing time and temperature were discussed. The influence of chitosan application on the dyeing properties of wool fabrics was investigated. The SEM photographs of chitosan treated wool fabrics clearly depict the deposition of chitosan on the fibers. The effect of chitosan concentration, dye bath pH, dyeing time and temperature has been studied by orthogonal experiment. It has been proved that the dyed wool samples pretreated by chitosan have higher color fastness, faster dyeing rate, and better antibacterial properties compared with untreated ones. © 2014 The Korean Fiber Society and Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.