PVA-AE, an etherification product of polyvinyl alcohol and allyl bromide, was synthesized and copolymerized with HEMA (2-hydroxyethyl methyl methacrylate) to obtain two copolymers-co-E1H9 (10% PVA-AE/90%HEMA, w/w) and co-E2H8 (20%PVA-AE/80%HEMA). The presence of PVA-AE reduced the water content from 32 % to 27 % in the resultant copolymer. The co-E2H8 copolymer had a higher tensile strain and lower elastic modulus (0.35 MPa) as compared with polyHEMA and co-E1H9 (3.9 and 2.28 MPa, respectively), The cell culture test shows that the copolymers resist cell attachment. The PVA-AE derivatives were also tested for their dentine bonding ability as an additive to HEMA. The results indicated that the dentine tensile bonding strength attained by the mixture of PVA-AE in HEMA was lower than that of the PVA-AA/HEMA dentine bonding agent that we had developed previously. The PVA-AE/HEMA copolymers have great potential for application as the basis material for anti-adhesion membranes.