Staphylococcus aureus protein A-imprinted polyacrylamide gel beads (SpA-IPGB) that target Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) were synthesized by inverse-phase suspension polymerization and using SpA as template. Adsorption experiments of different proteins onto SpA-IPGB were conducted to determine the protein binding capacity and selectivity. Recognition specificity studies of the prepared SpA-IPGB for S. aureus were conducted to determine the recognition specificity for the bacteria. The adsorption test results showed that imprinted gel beads exhibited a good recognition for template proteins, as compared to control proteins. The recognition specificity study indicated that the adsorbed quantity of S. aureus onto the SpA-IPGB was much higher than for other types of bacteria. The adsorbed quantity of S. aureus onto the SPA-IPGB was 10 3 –10 4 CFU/g of gel beads.