This work presents the synthesis and characterization of a new polymer, named AVS, which not only thickens the displacing fluid at high salinity and/or elevated temperature, but also emulsifies the crude oil. The results demonstrate AVS solution displays 50% higher apparent viscosity than the commonly used hydrolysed polyacrylamide (HPAM) solution in the same testing conditions. Furthermore, compared to HPAM, AVS has greater capacity to resist the shearing stress. Finally, core flooding experiments verify the AVS solution recovers more incremental oil than HPAM solution does, which is mostly attributed to its outstanding ability to simultaneously enhance the sweep efficiency and the displacement efficiency.