Novel partially bio-based polyimides were prepared from 2, 5-diamino-2, 5-dideoxy-1, 4: 3, 6-dianhydrosorbitol (diaminoisosorbide, DAIS) dihydrochloride, 2, 5-diamino-2, 5-dideoxy-1, 4: 3, 6-dianhydroiditol (diaminoisoidide, DAII) dihydrochloride, and various dianhydrides via a conventional one-step method in m-cresol. Inherent viscosity values of these polyimides spanned a range of 0.5 -1.5 dL/g. Flexible and transparent films can be easily cast from their corresponding solutions. The chemical structures and properties of isohexide-derived polyimides were fully characterized by using a variety of analytical techniques. The results revealed that the thermal and mechanical properties of isohexide-derived polyimides were similar to those derived from petrochemical-based diamines. Moreover, these polyimides exhibited good optical transparency, and optical activity. The good overall properties of isohexide-derived polyimides can be contributed to the incorporation of unique isohexide moieties that were rigid, thermally stable, fully aliphatic and chiral. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.