A series of poly(ester amide)s with ester/amide group ratios ranging from 1/99 to 1/4 were obtained using 1,6-hexanediamine, 1,6-hexanediol and 2,3-di-O-methoxy-L-tartaric and succinic acids as building blocks. The ester linkages were introduced in pairs using as comonomer the diacid resulting from the esterification of 1,6-hexanediol with 2 mol of succinic anhydride. Polycondensastion reactions were carried out in solution at room temperature with the diamine activated as the N,N’-bis(trimethylsilyl) derivative and the two diacids as bis(pentachlorophenyl) esters. The prepared poly(ester amide)s have number average molecular weights in the range 10 000-40 000, display optical activity and are soluble in chloroform. These copolymers were found to be highly crystalline with melting points above 200 degrees C and mechanical moduli comparable to those reported for the parent polyamide poly(hexamethylene-di-O-methyI-L-tartaramide). They were degraded by aqueous buffer of pH 7.4 at a rate that increased with the content of the copolymer in succinic acid units. H-1 n.m.r. evidenced that no reactions other than those entailing the hydrolysis of the main chain ester bonds appear to take place at polymer degradation.