Polypropylene (PP) films were irradiated with swift nickel ions, (90 MeV Ni8+ ions) at different fluencies varying from 10(10) to 3 x 10(11) ions/cm(2) and then grafted with glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) using benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as chemical initiator. It is shown that GMA could be grafted onto PP film. A comparison for the GMA grafting using BPO initiator in virgin as well as in the swift nickel ions irradiated PP films was given. The exposure of PP film to SHI results in a reduction in the effect of the BPO for graft copolymerization. Furthermore, as the fluency of swift nickel ions increased beyond an optimum value, the overlapping of the latent tracks reduced the grafting yield. Contact angle measurements and surface energy calculations showed an increasing hydrophilic nature in the direction from pure PP to grafted PP-g-GMA. These results are intended to benefit the synthesis and properties of a functional polymer. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:881-888, 2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers