Crosslinked copolymers of various compositions of N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (VP) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were prepared chemically in the presence of a crosslinking agent. The swelling mechanism was non-Fickian with about 86% conversion of feed composition to crosslinked copolymer. The reactivity ratios r(1) = 0.045 and r(2) = 3.07 for VP and HEMA indicate that HEMA is more reactive than VP in the reaction. Hydrophilicity, hydrophobicity and monomer composition in the copolymer controlled the drub release from the hydrogels.