Hydrophobic magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles were obtained by means of grafting poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) onto the surface of nanoparticles after oleic acid (OA) modification. The introduction of functional double bonds was firstly conducted on the surface of nanoparticles by OA modification, followed by dispersion polymerization on the particles Surface in ethanol solution using methyl methacrylate (MMA) as monomer, azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as stabilizer to graft PMMA on the surface of OA-modified magnesium hydroxide. The obtained composite particles were characterized by XRD, FTIR, TGA, FESEM-EDS, and the compatibility with organic solution was determined by sedimentation test. The results show that the organic macromolecule PMMA could be successfully grafted on the surface of OA-modified magnesium hydroxide nanoparticles, with the dispersibility and the compatibility of nanoparticles greatly improved in organic phase. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.