The possibility of applying birchwood xylan in papermaking process to improve dry strength of paper was investigated. Unmodified xylan barely adsorbed onto pulp fibers while cationically modified xylan adsorbed substantially. Adsorption of cationically modified xylan by quaternarization with 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropy trimethylammonium chloride improved dry strength of paper. Chemical structure and degree of substitution of the cationically modified xylan was determined by 400 MHz 13CNMR spectroscopy and elemental analyzer. The amount of adsorbed xylan on cellulose fibers was greater when the cationicity was moderate, and it was interpreted that the conformation of this cationic xylan adsorbed on fiber surface was more favorable for greater adsorption due to its greater loop formation tendency while highly cationic xylan tends to adsorbed in stretched conformation. The physical properties of handsheets increased as the amount of adsorbed cationic xylan increased. On the other hands, the optical properties decreased with xylan adsorption.