Novel bisphenol monomers (1a-d) containing phthalimide groups were synthesized by the reaction of phenolphthalein with ammonia, methylamine, aniline, and 4-tert-butylanilne, respectively. A series of cardo poly (arylene ether sulfone)s was synthesized via aromatic nucleophilic substitution of 1a-d with dichlorodiphenylsulfone, and characterized in terms of thermal, mechanical and gas transport properties to H 2, O 2 , N 2 , and CO 2 . The polymers showed high glass transition temperature in the range 230-2968C, good solubility in polar solvents as well as excellent thermal stability with 5% weight loss above 4108C. The most permeable membrane studied showed permeability coefficients of 1.78 barrers to O 2 and 13.80 barrers to CO 2 , with ideal selectivity factors of 4.24 for O 2 /N 2 pair and 28.75 for CO 2 /CH 4 pair. Furthermore, the structureproperty relationship among these cardo poly(arylene ether sulfone)s had been discussed on solubility, thermal stability, mechanical, and gas permeation properties. The results indicated that introducing 4-tert-butylphenyl group improved the gas permeability of polymers evidently.