A series of conventional polyimide (CPI) films, based on pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA) and benzophenonetetracarboxylicdianhydride (BTDA), were prepared by a two step process, and their dielectrical constant dielectrical loss, and DC conduction behaviors were studied at different frequencies and voltages. Their dielectrical breakdown voltage, water uptake, and solubility properties were also investigated. The effects of chemical structure and water uptake on the electrical properties of the films are discussed in detail. The dielectric constants of the CPI films vary between 2.93 and 3.72 at 1 MHz frequency and they are in the following decreasing order: BTDA-DDS > BTDA-DDE > PMDA-DDS > PMDA-DDE. The structure and thermal and oxidative stability of films were analyzed by FTIR-ATR and TGA, respectively. The results showed that all CPI films have good insulating properties, such as high dielectric breakdown voltage, low dielectric constant with stability for long period of frequency, and low leakage density. Our results concerning electrical properties also suggest that electron hopping is responsible for AC conduction and Poole-Frenkel mechanism is predominant for DC conduction of all CPI films. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.