Preparation of polyurethane (PU) nanofibers with enhanced hydrophilic properties was carried out by electrospinning of PU followed by modification of the obtained PU nanofibrous scaffold with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) by radiation induced grafting (RIG) method. The effect of electrospinning parameters on fibre diameters was optimized using the response surface method (RSM). The surface modification of PU scaffolds was performed by simultaneous irradiation method with an electron beam (EB) for the first time. The changes in the morphology, chemical structure, thermal stability and surface wettability of poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (PHEMA) grafted PU samples (PU-g-PHEMA) were evaluated using scanning electron microscope (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermal gravimetric analyser (TGA) and water contact angle analyser, respectively. An average fiber diameter of 560 nm was predicted at optimum electrospinning parameters of 10 wt PU concentration, 1ml/h flow rate and 22cm distance between the needle tip and collector, which was found to deviate from from the experimental value by 1.9. Degrees of grafting (DG) in the range of 7-30 were achieved in PU-g-PHEMA scaffolds and the DG was found to be a function of absorbed dose and monomer concentration. The incorporation of PHEMA grafts was verified and found to improve the hydrophilicity of electrospun PU to a remarkable extent. © 2018 Author(s).