The aqueous polymerization of methacrylamide initiated by the ammonium persulfate/thiolactic acid redox system has been studied at 35 ± 0.2°C. The rate of polymerization is governed by the expression, Rp+ Kp[MAA]1.33[TLA]0.22[ammonium persulfate]0.6. The deviations from normal kinetics are discussed. A tentative mechanism of initiation is given. The temperature dependence of the rate of polymerization has been studied over the range 30–55°C. The overall activation energy of polymerization is 10.4 kcal/mole.