2-Biphenylyl acrylate (BPA) was synthesized by the reaction of 2-phenylphenol as a microbicide with acryloyl chloride, and copolymers with the moiety of 2-phenylphenol were prepared by the radical terpolymerization of BPA-methylmethacrylate-acrylic acid. The contents of BPA unit in the poly mers were found to be 4.2 mol% and 9.1 mol% from their nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The number average molecular weights of the polymers were in the range of 15000 to 16000. 2-Phenylphenol was released through the hydrolysis of the polymers. The release rate of the microbicide increased with increasing pH of the release medium. The released solution showed higher microbicidal activity for E. coli as a negative microbe than S. aureus as a positive microbe.