Mannose-functionalized and ethoxyethanol-functionalized poly(amido)amine dendrimers bound multiple vanadate-substituted polyoxotungstate Wells-Dawson-type polyoxometalates (POMs). Dendrimers incorporating 10-30 POMs were characterized with NMR, transmission electron microscopy, and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry techniques. The number of metal clusters per dendrimer molecule varied according to the dendrimer generation and the nature of the surface functional groups. Efforts aimed at using the poly(polyoxometalate) dendrimers as oxidation catalysts are also described. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3059-3066, 2005.