The current study aims to synthesis crosslinked poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (CPVP) and poly (N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) containing silver nanoparticles (CPVP/Ag-NPs) hydrogels using ammonium persulfate (APS) as an initiator and silver nitrate as a precursor. Factors affecting crosslinking of such matrices were studied. The results obtained revealed that the optimum reaction conditions to prepare CPVP were: PVP concentration (70%), PVP molecular weight (40000 Dalton), APS/PVP weight ratio (100%), reaction temperature (90 OC), and reaction time (40 min). The aforementioned synthesized hydrogels were characterized via IR, XRD, SEM, as well as EDX analysis. The results confirmed that such prepared gels have remarkable antibacterial properties. The UV–Vis absorption spectrum proved that Ag-NPs were formed during CPVP synthesis. The release profiles of sodium diclofenac form the CPVP gel at pH 4 and 7 were studied.