The monomer phenyl acrylamide was synthesized by reacting acrylamide with chloro benzene in the presence of pyridine. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) was used to characterize the resulting monomer. High conversion poly phenyl acrylamide (PPAM) containing 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 wt % (in conversion to mass of PPAA) of N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAA) as crosslinker have been successfully synthesized. The effect of MBAA percentage on swelling parameters, clarity, mechanical and thermal properties of the prepared xerogels and hydrogels were studied. 1.5 wt % of MBAA is required to obtain clear xerogels and hydrogels. The water content (EWC), volume fraction of polymer (φ2) and weight loss during swelling decrease with increasing MBAA content. Young's and shear modulus (E and G) increase as MBAA content increases, the values of E and G are 0.661–3.878 MPa and 0.423–2.588 MPa, respectively. The hydrogels were characterized in terms of modulus crosslinking density (ve and vt) and polymer-solvent interaction parameters (χ). The results are 0.252–0.661 mol/dm3 for ve, 0.211–0.541 mol/dm3 for vt, and 0.813–0.987 for χ. Thermal properties of polymers enhance (Tg increase) by adding MBAA. These types of polymers and their hydrogels possess new properties with potential uses in different medical applications.