Cellulose and sulfated cellulose fibrous meshes exhibiting robust structural and mechanical integrity in water were fabricated using a combination of electrospinning, thermal-mechanical annealing and chemical modifications. The sulfated fibrous mesh exhibited higher retention capacity for human recombinant bone morphogenetic protein-2 than the cellulose mesh, and the retained proteins remained biologically active for at least 7 days. The sulfated fibrous mesh also more readily supported the attachment and osteogenic differentiation of rat bone marrow stromal cells in the absence of osteogenic growth factors. These properties combined make the sulfated cellulose fibrous mesh a promising bone tissue engineering scaffold.