To provide a method of improving the wear-resistant ability of polyethylene.

A method for making oxidation-resistant and wear-resistant polyethylenes and medical implants made therefrom; the method comprises the steps of providing an oxidation-resistant implant and irradiating the oxidation-resistant implant at a radiation dose above the standard sterilization dose but below about 100 Mrad in order to crosslink the implant to improve its wear resistance, and the oxidation-resistant implant is more resistant to oxidation than to an implant machined from a reference preformed ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene.