Methacrylic acid monomer was crosslinked in the presence of a template of either all-trans-retinoic acid or all-trans-retinol to prepare molecular imprinted polymers. The prepared molecular imprinted polymers showed good performance in the high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation of objective molecules from retinoid derivatives. The retention time increased with an increasing ratio of monomer to template, as more binding sites were statistically generated between host molecules and the template. The column capacity factor and selectivity were determined from the HPLC data. Not only specific interactions such as hydrogen bonding but also a tailor-made spatial cavity were the main functions of the separation of objective molecules. Thermal stability and prepared polymer particle shape were also investigated. (C) Wiley Periodicals, Inc.