In this article, a series of carboxylated acrylate copolymer latices were prepared based on the semicontinuous emulsion polymerization via the pure monomer dropwise manner with three different kinds of carboxylic monomers in presence of reactive emulsifier. The effects of the carboxylic monomers [acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, and monobutyl itaconate (MBI)] on the conversion and the properties of acrylate latices and films have been investigated. The carboxylic groups (?COOH) distribution of these three kinds of latices were investigated as well. The results show that the concentration of surface ?COOH (CS) and embedded ?COOH (Cb) both increase with the increase of the amount of carboxylic monomers. It shows that MBI, the most hydrophobic of the three carboxylic monomers used, tends to be concentrated inside the particle core, and the latex particles have a narrow size distribution. The results of common stability test have demonstrated that the stability of the latex is satisfactory. Moreover, the water absorption and the acid and alkaline resistance of the latex depend on the kind of carboxylic monomer. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012