Tannery effluent with high salinity can have a serious environmental impact. The pickling process that involves the use of sodium chloride and acids is one of the main origins of salt pollution. In this study, a non-pickling chrome tanning technology was developed. A macromolecular aliphatic aldehyde, PTA, was synthesized and employed to pre-tan bated pelt before chrome tanning so that the conventional pickling process was eliminated. It was found that PTA possesses moderate tanning property itself and favours the penetration of chrome, resulting in a chrome exhaustion of 90%. Meanwhile, the performance of leather was comparable to the conventionally processed leather in terms of hydrothermal stability and property evaluations.