Objective To explore the application value of swelling hemostatic materials in the first aid of war trauma. Methods Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyether ester-ethyl carbamate (PEEC) were placed in normal saline, anticoagulant rabbit blood, and 1∶1 mixture of normal saline and anticoagulant rabbit blood to evaluate their physical properties in vitro. The volume, weight changes, and pressure required for half volume compression of the 2 swelling hemostatic materials were recorded. A rat femoral arteriovenous injury model and a rabbit liver injury model were established to evaluate the hemostatic performances of PVA and PEEC in vivo. The hemostatic effects of sterile gauze, PVA, and PEEC on bleeding after femoral arteriovenous injury and liver injury were observed. The blood loss at 1 h and 24 h after operation, the blood loss at 1 min after removing the hemostatic materials, the degree of adhesion and the removal difficulty were observed and recorded. Results The volume change coefficient and volume change rate of PVA in the 3 simulated body fluids were higher than those of PEEC, while the weight change coefficient was lower than that of PEEC (all P＜0.01). In normal saline and anticoagulant rabbit blood, the pressures required for PVA to compress half of its volume were lower than that required for PEEC (both P＜0.05). One hour after surgery, the degree of adhesion and difficulty of removing PVA were better than those of sterile gauze and PEEC in the 2 animal models. One minute after removing the hemostatic materials, only the sterile gauze group showed a small amount of bleeding, while no active bleeding was observed in the PVA or PEEC group. In the femoral arteriovenous injury bleeding model, the blood loss at 1 h after surgery in the PVA group was less than that in the PEEC group (P＜0.01), while in the liver injury bleeding model, the blood loss at 1 h after surgery in the PVA group was more than that in the PEEC group (P＜0.01). At 24 h after surgery, the degree of adhesion and difficulty of removing PVA were better than those of sterile gauze, while most of PEEC was degraded and could not be removed. One minute after removing the hemostatic materials, no active bleeding was observed in the sterile gauze, PVA, or PEEC group. In the femoral arteriovenous injury bleeding model, there was no significant difference in the blood loss at 24 h between the sterile gauze group and the PVA group (P＞ 0.05). In the liver injury bleeding model, the blood loss at 24 h in the PVA group was more than that in the sterile gauze group (P＜0.01). In the 2 animal models, the blood loss at 24 h in the PEEC group was small, and it could not be calculated. In the femoral arteriovenous injury bleeding model, there were fewer inflammatory cells infiltrating around the muscle tissue near the hemostatic materials in the PVA group than in the sterile gauze and PEEC groups. Conclusion Both PVA and PEEC can control bleeding after femoral arteriovenous injury or liver injury by absorbing body fluids (including blood) to enlarge their own volume, providing new choices for the research and development of new equipment for the first aid of war trauma.