In this study, a new family of side-chain cholesteric liquid crystal copolymers derived from cholesterol substituents were synthesized. The chemical structures of the copolymers were validated by FTIR and H-1 NMR. A wide-band reflective polarizer from the above copolymers with stable optical properties was developed. The pitch gradient was formed by molecular diffusion between adjacent liquid crystal layers based on these cholesteric copolymers with different pitch lengths, and the pitch gradient was further stabilized by UV crosslinking of the polymerizable monomers during the diffusion process. The stability of these systems as a function of time was investigated. The polymer network was validated by scanning electron microscopy and this network played an important role in stabilizing the pitch gradient of the system. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:937-944, 2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers