For the first time water soluble copper- containing polymers based on sulfated ethanol lignin of abies wood were obtained by the method of ion exchange. Their composition and structure were studied with the use of elemental and chemical analysis, infrared spectroscopy (IR), atomic absorption, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). The absence of nitrogen for copper cations in the resulting polymer indicates the complete substitution of ammonium cations in the ammonium salt of sulfated ethanol lignin. In EPR spectrum of copper-containing sulfated ethanol lignin there is a superposition of two signals. One of them belongs to isolated Cu²⁺ ions, the other to exchange-bound Cu²⁺ ions in salt-like compounds. The integral intensity of signal of isolated Cu²⁺ ions (anisotropic signal) and exchange-bound ions (isotropic signal) depends on the copper content in the polymer.