A terpolymer (POTVTh-8FO-DBT) containing fluorene, side chain conjugated thiophene and 4,7-dithieny-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole was synthesized by palladium-catalyzed Suzuki coupling method. The polymer is soluble in common organic solvents. The thermal, absorption, and electrochemical properties of the polymer were examined. Photovoltaic properties of POTVTh-8FO-DBT were studied by fabricating the polymer solar cells (PSCs) based on POTVTh-8FO-DBT as donor and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PC61BM) as acceptor. With the weight ratio of POTVTh-8FO-DBT : PC61BM of 1 : 1 and the active layer thickness of 80 nm, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of the device reached 0.47% with Voc = 0.61 V, Jsc = 1.61 mA/cm2, and filled factor (FF) = 0.49 under the illumination of AM 1.5, 100 mW/cm2. The results indicated that this polymer was promising donor candidates in the application of PSCs. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013