Abstract: The transport of water during freezing directly influences the resultof cryopreservation of biological materials. Measurement of the osmotic properties ofcells will help the design of cryopreservation protocols. In this paper, the osmoticproperties of human cord blood stem cells (HCBSCs) are experimentally studied witha diffusion-chamber method. The inactive volume ratio of HCBSCs is determined to be0.52 + 0.07. The average diameter of HCBSCs is 9.9 + 1.0μm. The water permeabilityWith an Arrhemius relationship, the activation energy is calculated to be 58.6k J/mol.The data obtained are compared to those of stem cell from other sources.