Edible starch sodium octenyl succinate (SSOS) films, with or without glycerol as plasticizer, were prepared by solution-casting method. The effect of SSOS concentration, degree of substitution (DS) of octenyl group, as well as glycerol content, on the properties of SSOS films was studied including tensile strength, water vapor permeability (WVP), and oil permeability (OP). The results indicated that the tensile strength of SSOS film was up to 39.4 +/- 1.9 MPa when the concentration of SSOS was 0.05 g/mL and DS was 0.05. The increase of glycerol content resulted in a decrease of film tensile strength. WVP of SSOS films was relatively low. Meanwhile, study in OP showed that SSOS films were oilproof. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 127: 2922-2927, 2013