Graft copolymers of carboxymethyl guar gum (CMGG) and polyacrylamide (PAM) have been synthesized by grafting polyacrylamide chains onto carboxymethyl guar gum backbone using a ceric-ion-induced solution polymerization technique. By varying the amount of initiator, three different grades of graft copolymers are synthesized. The characterization of graft copolymer is carried out by FTIR, NMR, intrinsic viscosity measurement, SEM, SLS, DTG, and rheology. A comparison of flocculation efficiency of CMGG and its graft copolymer shows that the graft copolymer exhibits better flocculation performance. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 2621-2626, 2011