Abstract: To enhance the shielding performance of materials without significantly increasing the thickness, barium (Ba) was initially incorporated into the hierarchical structure of natural leather (NL) through the equal volume impregnation strategy (Ba/NL), and the waterborne polyurethane finishing agent with well-dispersed nano-gadolinium-oxide (Gd₂O₃) was uniformly coated on the grain surface of Ba/NL to fabricate X-ray shielding material (Gd-Ba/NL). X-ray shielding performance results showed that the 1.5-mm-thick Gd_1.80-Ba_2.32/NL could provide an equivalent level of shielding efficiency to 2.6-mm-thick Ba_2.32/NL . The synergistic effect of Gd and Ba contributed to a shielding efficiency exceeding 70% for the X-rays in the energy range of 16-48 keV, and provided a comparable mass attenuation coefficient for the X-rays in the energy of 65 and 83 keV to that of 0.25 mm lead plate. Furthermore, Gd_1.80-Ba_2.32/NL exhibited several advantages, including superior wearable comfortableness and excellent mechanical strength. Notably, it possessed a density that is only 1/3 of lead apron, while offering a water vapor permeability 12 times higher than that of lead apron. Its tensile strength and tearing strength surpassed national standards by 2 and 3 folds, respectively. Consequently, Gd_1.80-Ba_2.32/NL holds great potential as a wearable X-ray shielding material capable of replacing traditional lead apron.