An analytical equation of state extended from statistical associating fluid theory (SAFT) is modified to describe the thermodynamic properties of fluids with high polarity such as water and alkanols up to the region close to the critical point. Five terms are used in the equation of state: the term for hard convex body, the term for dispersion energy, the term for the chain formation of hard convex body, the term for the change of the dispersion energy because of chain formation, and the term for dipole-dipole interaction. This equation of state is still called SAFT-CP (across critical points). Six fluids water, methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 1-butanol and I-pentanol are used as examples. The new equation of state reproduces saturated pressures and densities in vapor-liquid equilibrium, critical properties (as temperature, pressure and density), and densities in the one-phase region with rational accuracies. The comparison of the calculated critical exponent beta with the experimental one for methanol shows the improvement up to the region only with 20K difference of temperature to the critical point. The result coincides with the estimation of the critical region on the basis of Ginzburg number and also with the available opinion that crossover methods and renormalization theories are necessary in the near-critical region. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.