Flame-retardant cotton fabrics were prepared by UV curing of photocurable aqueous formulations of phosphorous-containing methacrylate monomers and 2-hydroxy-2-methyl-1-phenyl-1-propanone as flame retardants and a photoinitiator respectively, which is an environmentally friendly and energy-saving process. The characterization of the UV-coated cotton fabric was made by ATR, TGA and limited oxygen index measurement. UV cured coating onto cotton fabrics reduced the first thermal decomposition temperature and mass loss as well as increase in the amount of char residue compared with the untreated cotton fabric presumably due to modified thermal decomposition process. The LOI values up to 28.5 and 27.2 were obtained by the UV curing of MMEP and TMEP respectively. The treatment was durable to five laundering cycles, which was more prominent in the case of trifunctional TMEP treatment.