Ultrafiltration membranes were prepared from homopolymer [polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polyethersulfone (PES), and polyvivylidenefluoride (PVDF)I and acrylonitrile copolymers with increasing acrylamide content. The membranes containing acrylamide were more hydrophilic and had a smaller dispersive surface energy than those prepared from the acrylonitrile homopolymer. A new nonfouling index (NFI) test was devised and appears to distinguish well between ultrafiltration membranes of different hydrophilicity-hydrophobicity balance. The NFI indices of acrylamide containing copolymer membranes were much higher than those of membranes cast with commercial membrane materials such as PAN, PES, and PVDF. The NFI of ultrafiltration membranes increased as acrylamide substitution in the copolymer increased. The use of acrylamide containing copolymers substantially eliminated intrinsic fouling.