Solvothermal Process Was successfully developed to graft dibutylmaleate (DBM) onto poly(ethylene-co-1-octene) (POE) with dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as free radical-initiator. FTIR spectra demonstrate that DBM is successfully grafted onto the backbone of POE by this novel method The influences of DBM content, DCP concentration, POE concentration, reaction temperature and reaction time on the grafting copolymerization have been investigated in detail through grafting degree (GD). It is worthy to indicate that high grafting degree (above 15%) can be achieved through the one-pot way when the graft reaction is carried out in 40 mL toluene at 150 degrees C for 5 h with 1.6 g DBM, 6-8 g POE and 0.35 g DCP. This developed solvothermal process is becoming an effective way to prepare POE-g-DBM graft copolymers, and cat) be extended to other systems. In addition, TGA results show that the thermal properties of POE are enhanced after the grafting reaction. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 116:298-303, 2010