Antibacterial and easy care characteristics were imparted to cotton fabrics using multifinishing formulation comprising citric acid (CA) and chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) as an eco-friendly finish. The latter of size around 60-100 nm were prepared through polymerization of meth acrylic acid (MAA) with chitosan using potassium permanganate as initiator and characterized using scanning electron microscope, transmittance electron microscope, Fourier transformer infrared spectroscopy, particle size analyzer, X-ray diffraction and thermo gravimetric analysis. Different factors affecting the degree of multifinishing treatment and their onset on fabric performance and antimicrobial activity were studied and optimized according to pad dry cure method. This was done to see the impact of chitosan nanoparticles to accomplish multifunction characteristics on cotton fabrics like reasonable strength loss, comparable wrinkle recovery angles, elongation at break, higher fabric stiffness and suitable durability in addition to antibacterial activity. It was seen from the attained results that; FTIR spectra and SEM micrograph showed the change in chemical structure and surface morphology of cotton fabric before and after finishing in absence and presence of chitosan nanoparticles. These fabrics parade antimicrobial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria tested even after 10 washing cycles. Mechanism of finishing of cotton fabric using citric acid and CNPs is identified.