In this study, xylan-based double-network (DN) hydrogels (xylan-based DN gels) with excellent mechanical properties were prepared using acrylic acid and acrylamide (AM) based on a DN approach. The first layer network was obtained by grafting and crosslinking polyacrylic acid (PAA) molecular chains onto xylan with ammonium persulfate (APS) as the initiator and N, N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) as the crosslinking agent; this network was subsequently immersed into an aqueous AM monomer in the presence of APS and MBA for the preparation of the second layer network. The results showed that the double networks were crosslinked by covalent bonds and that the mechanical properties of the xylan-based DN gels were enhanced. Thus, the xylan-based DN gels exhibited a maximum compression stress of 24.9 MPa. The xylan-based DN gels could also recover 97% of their original height after 15 repeated compression cycles; this indicates that the xylan-based DN gels possessed high resistance to friction and wear. Therefore, the prepared xylan-based DN gels have considerable potential for tissue engineering applications.