A new polycarboxylate superplasticizer (FPC) was synthesized by free radical copolymerization of crylic allyl polyoxyethylene ether (APE), acid (AA), sodium methallyl sulfonate (SMAS) and ferulic acid (FA) using ammonium persulfate (APS) as initiator. The optimum FPC was obtained when the molar ratios of APE, AA, SMAS and FA was 1: 5: 0.3: 0.15 using 3% APS by monomers total mass at 85℃ for 4 h. The remarkable feature of FPC is that it has the strong adaptability to mud cement. The application results showed that the fluidity of cement paste can reach to 308 mm, and the initial and final setting time is 430 and 502 min, respectively, and the water reducing ratio is 33.2% when FPC solid dosage is 0.2 wt% and mud content is 10 wt%. The results of SEM and compressive strength showed that FPC can make the hardened cement paste become dense and uniformity result in improving the later strength of hardened cement mortar. Key words: polycarboxylate superplasticizer; ferulic acid; microstructure; compressive strength