Hydrogels are widely used in medical, food and other applications due to their good water absorption without dissolution. The objective of this work was to synthesize a maleated poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAM) grafted copolymer with anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) (PVAM-graft-PAM) using K2S2O8 as an initiator in an eco-friendly process. The chemical structure of the PVAM-graft-PAM was confirmed by FTIR. The influences of the PVAM/PAM ratio and the natural rubber-graft-cassava starch (NS) and PVAM/PAM ratio on the properties of the PVAM-graft-PAM were investigated. It was observed that the swelling ratio of the sample was enhanced with increasing PAM portions in the PVAM-graft-PAM. However, as the quantity of NS in the graft copolymer increased, the swelling ratio decreased. In addition, the PVAM-graft-PAM was sensitive to variation in pH due to the presence of carboxylic and amide groups on the grafting structure. After the preparation of the PVAM-graft-PAM, it was used in the controlled release of retinoic acid. After use, the resulting hydrogel degraded easily in natural soil.