A new and facile technique for preparing homogeneous and highly selective molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) films on porous monodisperse poly-(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) beads (PGMA-EDMA beads) has been described: before polymerization, initiator was immobilized on the PGMA-EDMA beads' Surface by chemical reactivity; then functional monomers and crosslinkers were initiated by the surface-bound initiator and copolymerized to form MIPs films on the PGMA-EDMA beads' surface in the presence of template molecules. The resulting beads were analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectra. The effects of the initiator amount and copolymerization time on the content of MIPs, and MIPs contents oil morphologies and pore properties of the resulting beads were investigated. The results show that the content of MIPs can be adjusted by changing initiator amount or by controlling copolymerization time. The binding experiments indicate that, at lower grafting level, with the increase of MIPs content, the adsorption and recognition capabilities of the resulting beads enhance. When MIPs content increase to 16.75%, the highest adsorption and recognition capabilities are obtained. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 113: 2620-2627, 2009