Poly(aniline-co-m-ferrocenylaniline) and ferricinium-doped poly(aniline-co-m-ferrocenylaniline) were synthesized by a conventional chemical oxidative polymerization, then characterized by spectroscopic techniques and quantitative analyzes. Increasing of the percentages of m-ferrocenylaniline in the copolymers resulted to a blue shift of UV-Vis absorption spectra. Broader EPR spectra indicated the loss of conjugation and crystallinity of copolymers. H-1 NMR spectra confirmed the presence of ferrocene moieties and ferricinium in the polymers. The CV measurements showed that the electron withdrawing power of ferrocene moieties could lead to the decreasing of electron delocalization on the polymer main chain. The VSM results showed that as-prepared copolymers were soft magnetic materials with very low magnetization. Pd-doped poly(m-ferrocenylaniline) as catalysts were utilized in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions to improve the catalytic activities. (c) 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 1489-1497, 2013