Polymer chains consisting of water-soluble polyacrylamides and N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAM), hydrophobically modified with low amounts of N,N-dialkylacrylamides (N,N-dioctylacrylamide) have been prepared via free radical micellar polymerization, using a hydrophobic initiator derived from 4,4'-azobis(4-cyanopentanoic acid) containing a long linear chain of 16 (C16) carbon atoms. This procedure resulted in polyacrylamides containing hydrophobic groups along the chain as well as at the chain ends. These polymers are named "combined associative polymers" and include within their structure a water-soluble monomer (acrylamide), a thermosensitive monomer (NIPAM) and a hydrophobic monomer. The polymers were characterized by different techniques, also studying the effect of adding a surfactant anion such as sodium dodecylsulfate. The viscoelastic properties as a function of temperature of these associative polymers were investigated using steady-flow and oscillatory experiments considering the relaxation time (TR) and the plateau modulus (G(0)). The effect of concentration of acrylamide and NIPAM on the viscosity of the associative polymer solutions was investigated. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 51: 2473-2482, 2011. (C) 2011 Society of Plastics Engineers