The use of hydrocolloids to decrease oil absorption in banana chips was studied. The best results were obtained from the banana chips blanched in 0.5 g CaCl2/100 ml distilled water and treated with 1 g pectin/100 ml distilled water and in 0.5 g CaCl2/100 ml distilled water and treated with 1 g CMC/100 ml distilled water,whose oil contents greatly reduced from 40.22 g/100 g sample to 22.89 and 22.91 g/100 g sample, respectively. Treating banana chips with CaCl2 and pectin or with CaCl2 and CMC resulted in similar oil absorption activity (p 0.05). However, the former had higher sensory scores in all attributes compared to the latter.Coated banana chips blanched in CaCl2 following with immersion in alginate had the lowest reduction of oil content. Thus, pectinwas more effective than CMC and alginate in reducing oil uptake during frying. Scanning electron microscope photographs indicated that coating banana chips with calcium chloride solution and solution of pectin, was effective in protecting the cellular structure of banana tissue from damage during deep-fat frying.