Lignin was treated with emulsion of ethyl acrylate（EA）-maleic anhydride（MA）copolymer，then blended with poly(vinyl chloride)(PVC).The rheological property，thermal stability and mechanical performance of the blends were investigated.When PVC is blended with lignin，the torque obviously increases in the first part of the rheological profile，while the equilibrium torque and process stability are not visibly distinguished from PVC without lignin

and the thermal stability is better than PVC without lignin.There is little change in rheological property or thermal stability of the blends when lignin is treated with emulsion of EA-MA copolymer，but the mechanical performance increases obviously.The best mechanical performance was found when lignin was treated with 1%(mass) of the copolymer emulsion，where the impact strength of the blend is 37.7% higher than that of the PVC control，while the tensile strength was not found visible change.Micrographs of the blend samples fractured at low temperature obtained by SEM illustrated a better compatibility between PVC and the lignin treated with the copolymer emulsion.