Graft copolymers of sodium alginate (NaAlg) with itaconic acid (IA) were prepared in aqueous solution using ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as the redox initiator under N₂ atmosphere. The carboxylic acid groups of IA were neutralized with sodium hydroxide before grafting process. Grafted copolymers as sodium salts (NaAlg‐g‐PIA) were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, intrinsic viscosity measurement, differential scanning calorimetry, and thermogravimetric analysis. The graft yield (GY %) of the graft copolymer and the grafting efficiency (GE %) of the reaction were evaluated comparatively. The effects of the reaction variables such as the reaction time, temperature, percentage of NaAlg, monomer and initiator concentrations on these parameters were studied. It was observed that GY% and GE% increased and then decreased with increasing concentrations of IA and polymerization temperature. The optimum grafting conditions for maximum GY were obtained with a reaction time of 5 h, reaction temperature of 30°C, IA concentration of 0.23 M, CAN concentration of 9.12 × 10⁻² M and percentage of NaAlg 0.5 g/dL. The overall activation energy for the grafting was also calculated to be 1135 cal/mol. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009