A novel high oil-absorbing resin, P(EPDM/-MSt/ITA), was synthesized by suspension copolymerization with ethylene-propylene-diene (EPDM), -methylstyrene (-MSt), and itaconic acid (ITA) as monomers, benzoyl peroxide as initiator, and divinylbenzene as crosslink agent in this study. By using methods such as infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy, we studied the oil-absorbing resin structure, oil-absorption rate, oil-absorption saturation time, and submicroscopic structure of oil-absorption resin after oil absorption. The experiment results show that the highest oil absorptivity of the resin was about 21.9 g/g in diesel oil, obviously increasing the oil absorptive properties by the addition of itaconic acid as reaction monomer. We can draw a conclusion from scanning electron microscopy observation of sample after oil absorption that the oil-absorption resin was filled with diesel oil, and a kind of morphology structure similar with embossment can be produced during the oil-absorbing process. The oil-absorbing resin was used repeatedly through the extraction by ethanol. Experiment result proved to have little effect on oil-absorption properties. Otherwise, the oil-absorption rate constant K of novel high oil-absorbing resin was evaluated for diesel oil, and the oil-absorbing process obeyed the first-order kinetics equation. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 2013. (c) 2012 Society of Plastics Engineers