The gelation of buffered aqueous solutions of Cr3+ and Polyacrylamide having a low degree of hydrolysis (0.7% and 10%) has been investigated over a wide range of pH. It has been found that gelation occurs between pH 2.3 and 6.7 and that the time of gelation increases dramatically at low pH. An inverse correlation between Cr(OH)3(H2O)3 colloid formation (revealed by solution turbidity) and the pH range of gelation indicates that discrete, soluble (monomeric or oligomeric) rather than colloidal forms of Cr3+ are responsible for the cross-linking. The occurrence of gelation in the pH interval 6.0-6.7, where only a small amount of the Cr3+ would be soluble in a simple aqueous solution, has been attributed tentatively to Cr3+ complexation by the polymer. Cr3+ solubility experiments at pH 6.6 in solutions containing model, monomeric carboxylate compounds lend support for this hypothesis. © 1990, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.