The synergistic effect of dicyandiamide (Dicy) and phenolic substances was studied, with resorcinol as a model compound. It was found that when Dicy and resorcinol are used jointly, the curing temperature of epoxy resin can be significantly lowered. FTIR and DSC data were used to illustrate the mechanism of the synergism. The addition of the phenolic hydroxyl group to epoxide was facilitated by Dicy, which favors the formation of phenoxy anions. The reaction of Dicy with epoxide was facilitated by resorcinol, which can exert "electrophilic assistance" for the addition of the amino group to epoxide. The presence of resorcinol also favors the addition of the hydroxyl group to the cyano group. The thermal and mechanical properties of the epoxy resins cured with Dicy/resorcinol or Dicy/phloroglucinol were studied. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 89: 1869-1874, 2003.