Two anions (dodecylbenzenesulfonate anion and stearate anion) are employed to synthesize intercalated layered double hydroxides (LDH) by co-precipitation method. Then the intercalated LDHs are incorporated in the casting solutions of chloromethylated polysulfone (CMPSF) for fabricating quaternized polysulfone/LDH nanocomposite membranes. Fourier transform infrared, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and mastersizer laser particle size analysis are used to characterize the structure and morphology of LDHs and membranes. The properties of the composite membranes including water uptake, mechanical property, thermal stability, and ionic conductivity are investigated. Compared with other anion exchange membranes, both nanocomposite membranes containing 5% LDH sheets displayed better balanced performance. They exhibit the ionic conductivity of 3.58 x 10(-2) Scm(-1) and 3.86 x 10(-2) Scm(-1) at 60 degrees C, respectively. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2017. (c) 2017 Society of Plastics Engineers