The interactions of amino-terminated, and ethylenediamine core poly(amidoamine) (PAMAM) dendrimers and their derivatives with bovine serum albumin (BSA) were investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy. Experimental results showed that the fluorescence intensity of BSA decreased after the addition of different modified dendrimers, and the extent of the fluorescence quenching caused by various modified dendrimers strongly depends upon the different functional groups on their surfaces. We also investigated the influence of pH and ionic strength on the interaction between various modified dendrimers and BSA. Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopic measurements showed that the content of α-helix structure of BSA decreased after the addition of different modified dendrimers, which indicated that dendrimers induced changes in the secondary structure of BSA.