The cyclohexyl-substituted salicylaldiminato-Ni(II) complex [O-(3-C 6 H 11 )(5-CH 3 )C 6 H 2 CHAN-2,6-C 6 H 3 i Pr 2 ]Ni(PPh 3 )(Ph) (4) has been synthesized and characterized with 1 H NMR and X-ray structure analysis. In the presence of phosphine scavengers such as bis(1,5-cyclooctadiene)nickel(0) [Ni(COD) 2 ], triisobutylaluminum (TIBA), and triethylaluminum (TEA), 4 is an active catalyst for ethylene polymerization and copolymerization with the polar monomers tert-butyl-10-undecenoate, methyl-10-undecenoate, and 4-penten-1-ol under mild conditions. The polymerization parameters affecting the catalytic activity and viscosity-average molecular weight of polyethylene, such as the temperature, time, ethylene pressure, and catalyst concentration, are discussed. A polymerization activity of 3.62 ϫ 10 5 g of PE (mol of Ni h) Ϫ1 and a weight-average molecular weight of polyethylene of 5.73 ϫ 10 4 g . mol Ϫ1 have been found for 10 mol of 4 and a Ni(COD) 2 /4 ratio of 3 in a 30-mL toluene solution at 45°C and 12 ϫ 10 5 Pa of ethylene for 20 min. The polydispersity index of the resulting polyethylene is about 2.04. After the addition of tetrahydrofuran and Et 2 O to the reaction system, 4 exhibits still high activity for ethylene polymerization. Methyl-10-undecenoate (0.65 mol %), 0.74 mol % tert-butyl-10-undecenoate, and 0.98 mol % 4-penten-1-ol have been incorporated into the polymer.