Two kinds of new aromatic diamine monomer containing thio-amide unit, bis [4-(p-aminothiophenyl)benzoyl]diamine (ATPBA), were synthesized in two steps, which was reacted with 4,4 -(sulphonyl-bis(p-phenylthio)) dibenzoyl chloride (S-DC) to prepare a new polyamide containing high quantity thio-ether unit. The intrinsic viscosity of PASSA was 0.81-0.93dl/g obtained with optimum synthesis conditions. The polymers were found to have excellent thermal performance with glass transition temperature (T g ) of 245.3-265.8 • C, initial degradation temperature (T d ) of 446.9-441.6 • C. They showed improved solubility in polar aprotic solvents. The optical transmittance of the aromatic polyamide (PA-3a and PA-3b) film at 450 nm is higher than 80%. The thio-ether unit provided the PA-3a and PA-3b with a much higher refractive index ranging from 1.699 to 1.701, and low birefringence between 0.006 and 0.007.