A water-soluble acrylamide hydrophobically associating terpolymer for polymer flooding was successfully synthesized via free radical polymerization using acrylamide (AM), acrylic acid (AA), and N,N-divinylnonadeca-1,10-dien-2-amine (DNDA) as raw materials. The terpolymer was characterized by IR spectroscopy and fluorescence spectra. Compared with partially hydrolyzed polyacryamide (HPAM), the terpolymer showed a stronger link and better dimensional network structure under the environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). The results of rheology indicated that the terpolymer (AM-NaAA-DNDA) showed an excellent shear-resistance in high shear rate (1000 s1) and remarkable temperature-tolerance (above 110 degrees C). The salt-resisting experiment revealed that this terpolymer had a better anti-salt ability. According to the core flooding test, it could be obtained that oil recovery was enhanced more than 15% under conditions of 2000 mg/L terpolymer in the mineralization of 8000 mg/L at 60 degrees C. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013