Various soluble and fusible liquid crystalline conjugated polymers can be synthesized due to recent progress in the use of the Stille coupling reaction and the Heck reaction. Evidence of nematic liquid-crystalline phases in these polymers- arising from the rigid-rod nature of the conjugated polymer backbone-is provided, and it is demonstrated that properties Such as T(m), T(c), the solubility and the fusibility can be controlled by changing the side groups.