Semirigid polycarbonates composed of nonconventional flexible rodlike units like diphenyl ether or benzophenone having bent linkages in the central parts between the benzene rings were prepared by melt polycondensation of 6,6’-(4,4’-oxy- or -carbonyldiphenylenedioxy)dihexanol with various alkylene diphenyl dicarbonates (n = 2-6, 8-10, and 12). The resulting polymers had high inherent viscosities and very good solubilities in organic solvents such as chloroform and tetrahydrofuran. Flexible films were cast from the chloroform solutions. The structures of the polymers were characterized by FTIR and C-13 NMR spectroscopy measuements and elemental analyses. The thermotropic liquid crystalline (LC) properties were examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), polarizing microscopy, and powder X-ray analyses at various temperatures. These measurements demonstrated that the polycarbonates containing the diphenyl ether with alkylene chains of n = 4-10 and the ones consisting of the benzophenone unit having spacers of n = 6 and 8 could form nematic LC or birefringent melts. The others had no LC melts. The glass transition temperatures were below room temperature and tended to decrease with increasing alkylene spacer length. It was suggested that the diphenyls were responsible for the formation of the LC phases in the main-chain type semirigid polymers in spite of having kinked linkages and lowered the transition temperatures. The mesogenic character of the diphenyl ether was superior to that of the benzophenone unit.