Diamond is recognized as a promising semiconductor material for biological applications, because of its high chemical stability and biocompatibility. Here, we report an acid with only three carbon chain, acrylic acid (AA), for the functionalization of H-terminated diamond film via photochemical method. The successfully modified surfaces were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and contact angle analyzer. Our functionalization approach was proven to be simple and facile, which shows a new potential opportunity for the photochemical modification of diamond surface with short carbon chain acid. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.