The kinetics of acrylamide (AAM) polymerization initiated by diperiodatonickelate(Ⅳ) periodate complex was studied in aqueous alkaline medium.The results indicate that the equation of the polymerization rate is as follows:R p=k[Ni(Ⅳ)] 0 72 [AM] 1 41 and the overall activation energy of AAM polymerization is 41 33kJ/mol.The polymer molecular weight decreases with increasing [Ni(Ⅳ)] and increases with increasing [AAM].The effects of various reaction conditions on the polymerization rate were also studied.The initiation mechanism was proposed.