Three novel cardanol-based phenalkamines with good stability have been successfully prepared by Mannich reaction using phenolic compounds with paraformaldehyde and hexamethylenediamine (or its mixture with other amines). The structure of the prepared phenalkamines has been analyzed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The curing kinetics of the prepared epoxy resin/phenalkamine systems has been investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and determined by Kissinger, Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, and Crane methods. Furthermore, the thermal properties of the cured materials have been evaluated using DSC and thermogravimetric analysis, and the mechanical properties of the cured materials have been analyzed systematically. The results demonstrate that the phenalkamine 1 (PAA1) had a lower reactivity and better toughness than phenalkamine 2 (PAA2) and phenalkamine 3 (PAA3). In addition, PAA1 is a solid curing agent, while PAA2 and PAA3 are liquid curing agents, which were more convenient for practical usage. Results indicate that the properties of the prepared phenalkamines strongly depend on the structures. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014, 52, 472-480