The present invention provides a shark-like chondroitin sulphate and a process for the preparation thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a shark-like chondroitin sulphate, having a very low amount of 4-sulphate, a high charge density and a biological activity comparable to natural chondroitin sulphates. The invention also relates to a process for the preparation of said shark-like chondroitin sulphate affording substantially higher productivities and better reproducibility of product quality. The shark-like chondroitin sulphate of the invention shows a high molecular mass and its in vitro biological and anti-inflammatory effectiveness has been shown to be comparable to that of natural products making this polysaccharide potentially useful as a drug in pharmaceutical preparations and nutraceuticals.