A novel fullerene-acrylamide copolymer was synthesized via radical polymerization. It is soluble in polar solvents such as water and dimethyl sulfoxide. The product was characterized by FTIR, UV-vis, and GPC. TEM analysis showed that the average particle diameter was about 46 nm. The in vitro antitumor activity of the fullerene-acrylamide derivatives was tested, and the results showed that the novel fullerene-acrylamide derivatives exhibited better antitumor activity in vitro against bone tumor cells. The cytotoxicity against the tumor cell mechanism of the fullerene copolymer nanoball was studied. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.