Acrylic resins is a polymeric material containing acrylic monomers. These monomers are usually esters of acrylate, methacrylate or their derivatives. Acrylic resin is a copolymer, which means other monomers can also be incorporated in the polymer chains in order to obtain final product with different properties.  Various monomers are selected to enhance properties that may include weather resistance, moisture resistance, oxygen permeability, flexibility, and hardness.

Acrylic resins comprises thermoplastic and thermosetting types. Thermoplastic acrylic resins is an acrylic polymer material that becomes pliable or moldable at a certain elevated temperature and solidifies upon cooling. Most thermoplastic types have a high molecular weight.

Thermoplastic acrylic resins typically use a high level of methyl methacrylate in their polymer backbone to provide excellent hardness and exterior durability. In thermoplastic acrylic resins, the polymers composing the resin do not contain any reactive group. Thus, in these resins, the polymer chains are not crosslinked. To improve the interaction between the different polymer chains, high molecular weight polymers are used. These resins are usually water resistant, excellent in yellowing resistance and gloss retention, fast drying, and good adhesion. Main applications of these resins include paints, inks and adhesives.