Near-neutral bleaching of cotton fabrics at low temperature is of great importance for saving energy and ecological friendliness in textile industry. In this work, glycerol triacetate (GT) was investigated as an activator of hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) for low temperature bleaching of cotton knitted fabrics, and satisfactory whiteness was obtained. The bleaching properties of H 2 O 2 /GT system for cotton was assessed by the CIE whiteness index, H 2 O 2 decomposition rate, concentration of generated peracetic acid (PAA) and bursting strength. Possible factors affecting the performance of H 2 O 2 /GT bleaching system were discussed in detail. Adding only 10 mmol/L GT to the hydrogen peroxide solution (60 mmol/L) to bleach cotton knitted fabrics at 60 ℃ for 60 min, the WI was signi cantly increased from 52.09 to 68.92.By using benzenepentacarboxylic acid as a uorescent probe for hydroxyl radical (HO•) detection, it was found that GT could clearly promote HO• generation and the concentration of HO• closely related to the WI of cotton fabric. Furthermore, the bleaching mechanism of H 2 O 2 /GT system to cotton was proposed by exploring the relationship between WI and HO• concentration. As a bleach activator, GT has more economical bene ts and better solubility in water than that of TAED. The H 2 O 2 /GT system may provide a cost-effective and environmentally friendly approach as alternative to conventional alkaline hightemperature bleaching of cotton.