Surface modification of a hydrophobic poly(vinylidine fluoride) (PVDF) membrane using a polar monomer [acrylic acid (AA) or 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)] is challenging because the hydrophobic membrane surface becomes hydrophilic. It can be performed through chemical grafting using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as a radical polymerization initiator to impart permanent hydrophilicity. Acetone and toluene may be used as solvents. The grafted membrane was characterized for its functional groups by IR spectroscopy. The intensity of the band at 1713 cm-1 (for C = O groups) was observed in the grafted membranes PVDFM1 and PVDFM2. The characteristic signals of the C = O and OH groups for the membranes PVDFM3 and PVDFM4 occurred at 1711 and 3435 cm-1, respectively. These bands were not observed in the PVDF base membrane. The degree of grafting of poly(AA) or poly(HEMA) on the PVDF membrane increased in the order PVDFM3 > PVDFM4 > PVDFM1 > PVDFM2 > PVDF. SEM images revealed that highly grafted membranes had a higher surface coverage and much smaller pores, which leads to a lower contact angle, higher hydrophilicity, and higher flux. According to contact angle measurements, the hydrophilicity increased in the order PVDFM3 > PVDFM4 > PVDFM1 > PVDFM2 > PVDF. We observed that steady flux of pure water before fouling, yeast solution and pure water after fouling increases as the same order of hydrophilicity.