Sodium dodecyl2-hydroxy-3-methacryloyloxypropyl phosphate as an amphiphilic vinyl monomer was found to polymerize spontaneously without initiator in water. The polymerization takes place at a monomer concentration higher than the critical micelle concentration via a free-radical mechanism, and complete conversion is achieved even at a very low initial monomer concentration (3 mmol/L) and arather low temperature (35 "C). In benzene, capable of forming inverse micelles, the polymerization also occurs spontaneously. In methanol, which gives an isotropic solution, the spontaneous polymerization proceeds only at high concentration (near 300 mmol/L). The 'H spin-spin relaxation time (T2r) of the monomer changes discontinuously in a range of monomer concentration from 250 to 300 mmol/L in CD,OD, suggesting that some kind of monomer mutual interaction takes place in methanol too. Thus, it can be concluded that the micellar aggregation of monomer molecules triggers the polymerization.