A novel nitrogen-containing epoxy resin was synthesized by two steps: (1) condensation reaction between xyleneformaldehyde resin and phenol, to obtain thermoplastic xylenephenolformaldehyde (XPF) resin; and (2) addition reaction between XPF resin and triglycidyl isocryanurate (TGIC). The synthetic kinetics of XPF resin were intensively investigated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC). The results showed that XPF resin, with different molecular weights and low content of free phenol, could be obtained by changing the reaction conditions. The kinetics of reaction between XPF resin and TGIC was monitored by GPC and epoxy value titration. The results showed that the percentage conversion of TGIC was > 85% within 60 min at 140 degrees C and the epoxy value, about 0.3-0.4 mol/100 g, varied with the reaction conditions. This novel epoxy resin exhibited good stability of storage and could be used as a basic resin for making prepreg and laminate. The structures of XPF and XT resins were characterized by IR and H-1-NMR spectra. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.