Oleophilic ion-exchange resins are ones capable of appreciable swelling in most organic solvents, and thus they have functional ion-exchange properties in these solvents. These resins were prepared by introduction into the polymer structure of hydrophobic or oleophilic groups which reduce the polarity of an ion-exchange polymer and make f o r its swelling in organic solvents. Oleophilic ion-exchange polymers were prepared by the copolymerization of methacrylic acid and dodecyl methacrylate; by the copolymerization of styrene and isobutylene, followed b y sulfonation; by the formation of a cage polymer of polystyrene about a linear, oil-soluble polymer of isobutylene or butyl rubber, followed by cross linking (sometimes) and sulfonation; by the acylation (with lauroyl groups, as an example) of polystyrene, followed by sulfonation; by the quaternerization with long-chain alkyl halides of polyvinylimidazole; by the chloromethylation of polystyrene, followed by treatment with a long-chain tertiary amine. In this manner, polymers were prepared which had appreciable swelling in a wide range of solvents varying f r o m hexane or benzene on one hand to water on the other. The rates of exchange of certain of these oleophilic ion-exchange polymers in apolar solvents were shown to be comparable to those of conventional ion-exchange resins in aqueous media.