Japanese cedar wood was acetylated and glued with polyvinyl acetate (PVAc). polyethylene (PE) and polystyrene (PS). The bond properties of those thermoplastics were examined in air-dry and wet conditions. The bond strength of PVAc was slightly reduced by the acetylation of wood when the PVAc was applied in water emulsion form, but the reversed trend was recognized when the PVAc was diluted with ethyl acetate. This fact indicates improved wettability of acetylated wood for hydrophobic diluents. The wood acetylation significantly improved the bond strength of PS, while it affected that of PE only a little. This fact suggests that the acetylation is effective to enhance the affinity of wood for PS rather than PE. The acetylated wood-PS system showed excellent water resistance: its bond strength was reduced by only 10-20% after immersion in warm water, while the PVAc and PE showed 30-90% reduction in bond strength.