Polyaddition of a kojic acid dimer and diisocyanates yielded polyurethane with metal‐coordination ability owing to the phenolic hydroxyl groups of kojic acid. Although the kojic acid dimer contains two phenolic and two aliphatic hydroxyl groups, 1,5‐diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non‐5‐ene catalyzed polymerization proceeded through highly selective reactions of the aliphatic hydroxyl groups without any protection of the phenolic hydroxyl groups. The resulting polymers complexed with FeCl3, and specific colorizations were observed. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012