A series of hydroxyl-group containing polyimides (HPIs) were prepared in order to investigate the structure-gas permeation property relationship. Each polymer membrane had structural characteristics that varied according to the dianhydride monomers. The imidization processes were monitored using spectroscopic and thermog-ravimetric analyses. The single gas permeability of He, $H_2$, $CO_2$, $O_2$, $N_2$ and $CH_4$ were measured and compared in order to determine the effect of the polymer structure and functional -OH groups on the gas transport properties. Surprisingly, the ideal selectivity of $CO_2/CH_4$ and $H_2/CH_4$ increased with increasing level of -OH incorporation, which affected the diffusion of $H_2$ or the solubility of $CO_2$ in HPIs. For $H_2/CH_4$ separation, the difference in the diffusion coefficients of $H_2$ and $CH_4$ was the main factor for improving the performance without showing any changes in the solubility coefficients. However, the solubility coefficient of $CO_2$ in the HPIs increased at least four fold compared with the conventional polyimide membranes depending on the polymer structures. Based on these results, the polymer membranes modified with -OH groups in the polymer backbone showed favorable gas permeation and separation performance.