Effect of acrylonitrile water solubility on the suspension polymerization of acrylonitile and styrene was investigated. It was found that the copolymer composition produced in the suspension polymerization of acrylonitrile and styrene was significantly different from that in the bulk polymerization at the same monomer feed ratio, since acrylonitrile is partially soluble in water. To predict accurately and then control the copolymer composition in the suspension polymerization, a model to calculate the copolymer composition was proposed based on considering the phase partition of actylonitrile between monomer and aqueous phases. The results calculated by the model are in agreement with the experimental data. The real reactivity ratios in monomer phase used in the model are the same as that in the bulk polymerization, but the apparent reactivity ratios used in the classical theory for the suspension polymerization vary significantly with water/oil ratio. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.