A Fricke-PVA-xylenol orange (FPX) hydrogel dosimeter, in good transparency, was prepared by physical crosslinking for three-dimensional dose measurements. The process of mixing the chemical dosimeter with the PVA solution was carried out at room temperature, which reduced the influence of auto-oxidation rate. Gradation in color was obviously observed with different distance from the radiation source after 6 MeV electron beam irradiation for radiotherapy. The effects of irradiation dose and three components of the FPX gel dosimeter, i.e. ferrous ions, xylenol orange (XO) and sulphuric acid on sensitivity and stability of dose response were investigated by UV-vis spectropho-tometric measurement. The dose response of the FPX gel dosimeter was linear in the range 0~2.0 Gy. The orthogonal test was employed to find the optimal composition of the gel dosimeter with a sensitivity of about 0.095 cm-1·Gy-1. It was found that XO concentration greatly affected the sensitivity of dose response and lower concentrations of the fer-rous ion and XO gave higher sensitivity within the range 0~2.0 Gy.