Self crosslinkable core-shell polyacrylate latices (PAs) cured at ambient temperature were synthesized by semicontinuous-seeded emulsion polymerization with diacetone acrylamide (DAAM) and adipic dihydrazide (ADH) as crosslinkable monomers. The influences of DAAM monomer mass content, neutralizer, and curing temperature on the properties of self crosslinkable core-shell latices and the keto-hydrazide crosslinking were discussed. The spectroscopic techniques such as Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), differential scanning calorimeter (DSC), atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and contact angle instruments were used to determine the structure and properties of PAs. The water evaporating rate during the film-forming process of self crosslinkable core-shell latices was also investigated. FTIR analyses demonstrate that the keto-hydrazide crosslinking reaction does not occur in the latex environment but occurs at ambient temperature with the evaporation of water during the film-forming process. The results of DSC show that the core-shell crosslinkable PAs have two glass transition temperatures (T(g)), and T(g)s of crosslinked film are higher than that of non crosslinked fim. Moreover, the keto-hydrazide reaction is found to be acid catalyzed and favored by the loss of water and the simultaneous decrease in pH arising from the evaporation of ammonia or amines during film-forming process. Hence, in the volatile ammonia or amines neutralized latices, the latex pH value adjusted to 7-8, which not only ensure the crosslinkable latex with good storage stability but also obtain a coating film with excellent performances by introducing the keto-hydrazine crosslinking reaction. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 123: 1822-1832, 2012