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The depolymerization of chitosan by plasma in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>) was investigated. The efficiency of the depolymerization was demonstrated by means of determination of viscosity-average molecular weight and gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The structure of the depolymerized chitosan was characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectra (FT-IR), ultraviolet spectra (UV) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that chitosan can be effectively degradated by plasma in the presence of H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub>. The chemical structure of the depolymerized chitosan was not obviously modified. The combined plasma/H<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub> method is significantly efficient for scale-up manufacturing of low molecular weight chitosan.