Two types of microporous filter materials were developed for removing virus from water by using poly(N-benzyl-4-vinylpyridinium chloride) that captures virus in water. Conventional ultrafiltration using one to three sheets of 145-μm-thick cellulose nitrate membrane with a pore size of 0.45 μm and coated with 1.7 mg/g of poly(N-benzyl-4-vinylpyridinium chloride-co-styrene) showed 99.4–99.998% removal (2.2–4.7 log10-unit reduction in concentration) of bacteriophage T4, whereas the control experiments using noncoated membrane showed 91–96% removal (1.0–1.4 log10-unit reduction in concentration) of the virus. A composite 360-μm-thick microporous membrane with a pore size of 20 ¨︁m was prepared that consisted of connected minute beads of 1.7 ¨︁m in diameter made of crosslinked poly(N-benzyl-4-vinylpyridinium chloride) and reinforced by a nonwoven cloth. Simple filtration using one sheet of the composite membrane at 34.2cm/h showed 99.96–99.9995% removal (3.4–5.3 log10-unit reduction in concentration). The virus was not detected in the filtrate when two sheets of the composite membrane were used. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.