Poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) was irradiated by electron beam in vacuum at 20 KGy to produce living free radicals, and then reacted with acrylic acid (AA) in solution to obtain the PVC-g-AA copolymers. The copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Porous membranes were prepared from copolymers by the phase inversion technique. The morphology of PVC-g-AA membranes was studied by field emission scanning electron microscopy. The mean pore size and pore size distribution were determined by a mercury porosimeter. The mean pore size was 0.19 mu m, and the bulk porosity was 56.02%. The apparent static water contact angle was 89.0 degrees. The water drop penetration rate was 2.35 times to the original membrane. The maximum stress was 4.10 MPa. Filtration experiments were carried out to evaluate the fouling resistance of the PVC-g-AA membrane. (c) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.