The prediction of the final particle size for reactive systems such as the reactions of suspension polymerization is a complex matter. Thus, the preparation of very small microparticles is specially challenging, probably because of the coalescence of the polymeric beads taking place during the later stages of the polymerization. In this work, very small gel-type styrene-co-divinylbenzene beads were synthesized by using a previously determined set of experimental synthesis conditions in which the stabilization of the dispersion of the monomeric droplets was ensured, and, under these conditions, the factors related to the geometry of the experimental device were modified to determine their actual effect on the final size of the microparticles. From the experimental results, a very simple and useful model was obtained that was able to predict the final size of the microparticles as a function of the values of the geometric factors of the reactor. This model indicates that the most influential factors in the final size of the microparticles are the liquid depth inside the reactor and the stirrer diameter; thus, an increase in the liquid depth produces larger particles, and, conversely, the particle size decreases when using larger stirrer diameters. Additionally, the model permits the design of polymerization experiments aimed at obtaining microparticles with a diameter smaller than 50 mu m. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012