[en] Indonesia is the sixth largest corn producer in the world. The high corn production in Indonesia is correlated with waste corn cob produced. However, corn cob waste is not fully utilized, mainly only disposed and burned that caused environmental pollution. One alternative to utilize of corn cob is to be processed to cellulose based superabsorbent polymer (SAP) hydrogel. In this study, cellulose based hydrogel was prepared using epichlorohydrin (Ech) as cross-linking agent and modified particle size to produce nanohydrogel. The aim of the research was to find out the effect of Ech concentration and cellulose: solvent ratio on the characteristic of nanohydrogel. The treatment tested was Ech concentration of 4%, 16% and 28%; whereas the ratio of cellulose: solvent was 1: 2 (A2) and 1: 4 (A4). Parameters observed were swelling ratio, gel fraction, texture and morphology of the resulted hydrogel. Result showed that the higher the Ech concentration the swelling ratio increasing. The best treatments were nanohydrogel with Ech concentration 28% and cellulose: solvent ratio 1: 2 with characteristics as follows: 514% swelling ratio, 44% gel fraction and 0.33 mJ hardness, with morphology showed higher porosity. This hydrogel has a wide potential as water absorbent material in dry agricultural areas and can be used as fertilizer carrier agent. (paper)