A tissue engineering composite scaffold serves as a temporary skeleton to accommodate and stimulate new tissue growth. Here we report the development of a biodegradable porous composite scaffold made from the bioactive chitosan (CHN) and hyaluronic acid (HYA) with graphene oxide (GO). The CHN–HYA–GO composite scaffold was successfully prepared and compared with CHN-HYA composite scaffold and found that CHN–HYA–GO significantly improved mechanical and biological properties. Moreover, the CHN–HYA–GO composite scaffold possessed an adequate porosity, swelling behavior and degradation rate to mimic the extracellular matrix (ECM) with a favorable cell attachment and proliferation. The cells in contact with CHN–HYA–GO composite scaffolds remained viable and exhibited a high growth potential. Therefore the uniquely fabricated CHN–HYA–GO composite scaffolds possess great potential for various tissue engineering applications.