This dataset is related to the research article entitled ``A fast method to measure the degree of oxidation of dialdehyde celluloses using multivariate calibration and infrared spectroscopy''. In this article, 74 dialdehyde cellulose samples with different degrees of oxidation were prepared by periodate oxidation and analysed by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIR). The corresponding degrees of oxidation were determined indirectly by periodate consumption using UV spectroscopy at 222 nm and by the quantitative reaction with hydroxylamine hydrochloride followed by potentiometric titration. Partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to correlate the infrared data with the corresponding degree of oxidation (DO). The developed NIR/PLSR and FTIR/PLSR models can easily be implemented in other laboratories to quickly and reliably predict the degree of oxidation of dialdehyde celluloses.