The brittleness of poly(styrene maleic anhydride) (SMA) was improved by compositing with elastic poly(methyl methacrylate-butadiene-styrene) (MBS) to develop it into optical film. Transparent and flexible SMA films were prepared, and the flexibility of them was checked by folding endurance test and folding bend. The transparence of SMAMBS films were proved by the transmittance and haze measurements. In actual view, the letters could be clearly observed while they were covered by prepared films. The thermal stability of them was confirmed by DSC and TGA analysis. These physical properties of films are comparable to that of polycarbonate which is widely used as optical film. Besides of these, mechanical and fracture properties of them were found to be also suitable for this purpose. Furthermore, negative birefringence could be obtained by orientationally stretching them. Such results indicate that, films prepared from composites are competent for negative birefringence optical compensator in the field of liquid crystal display. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 120: 1837-1842, 2011