A kind of hydrogel with pH- responsive and self- healing properties was successfully prepared by introducing acrylic acid (AA) groups into the main chain of chitosan (CS), and adding Fe³⁺ to form metal-ligand bonds with -COOH. It is confirmed through infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy analysis that AA and Fe³⁺ are successfully crosslinked with CS. The experimental results of responsiveness and reproducibility prove that the hydrogel has good pH and salt solution responsiveness, and could repeatedly swell and eliminate swelling in different pH and salt solutions, while maintaining a stable morphology. To verify its practicality, 5- fluorouracil was used as model drug to study the drug release under different pH conditions. The experimental results show that the drug release amount of hydrogel would change with the change of external pH conditions. Furthermore, the hydrogel can self-heal without external pressure after incision. This kind of hydrogel with pH response and self-healing properties has a great promise for pharmaceutical applications.