Various water- soluble polymers were used to examine an alternative emulsifier for poly( ethylenealtmaleic anhydride), used in the preparation of crosslinked polyurea microcapsules. Microcapsules were successfully prepared by using the water- soluble polymers with large molecular weight alternating copolymers, namely poly(olefin-maleic anhydride), poly(olefin-maleic acid), and poly( acrylic acid). On the other hand, no microcapsule resulted from olefin- maleic acid with small molecular weight alternating copolymers. From these results, the following guidelines were obtained for the selection of polymeric surfactants suitable for crosslinked polyurea microcapsule. A polymeric surfactant must have maleic acid or a carboxyl group in order to form a crosslinked polyurea microcapsule membrane. Furthermore, to form a stronger capsule membrane it is desirable to have a maleic anhydride group. It is also important for membrane formation that the polymeric surfactant has a suitable molecular weight.