Eight different silicon-containing (meth)acrylate monomers are synthesized by the substitution reaction of chlorosiloxanes with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate or 2-hydroxyethyl acrylate. Their molecular structures are confirmed by IR, 1H-NMR, and 13C-NMR spectroscopic analyses. The effects of silicon content on the UV-curing behavior, physical, surface, and thermal properties are investigated. The UV-curing behavior is analyzed by photo differential scanning calorimetry. The surface free energy of the UV-cured film is calculated from contact angles measured using the Lewis acid-base three liquids method. The silicon-containing (meth)acrylate monomers perform much better than traditional (meth)acrylate monomers on UV-curing. The silicon-containing monomers have higher final conversions and fast UV-curing rates in photopolymerization. The surface free energy decreases with increasing silicon content, because silicon in the soft segment is transferred to the surface, producing a UV-cured film; this is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. All these advantageous properties enable these synthetic silicon-containing monomers to perform better in applications. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013