Corn starch was oxidized with sodium hypochlorite and grafted with polyvinyl alcohol. And then the copolycondensation was carried out with the phenolic prepolymer to prepared starch/ phenol-formaldehyde oligomers (S/PFO) copolycondensation adhesive. The effects of starch/ phenol-formaldehyde oligomers ratio, copolymerization temperature and copolymerization time on the solid content, viscosity, curing time, dry bonding strength and wet bonding strength of S/PFO copolymerization adhesive were discussed. The results show that the S/PFO copolycondensation adhesive has the best comprehensive properties when the starch/phenol-formaldehyde oligomers ratio is 15/120, the copolymerization temperature is 90 ℃ and the copolymerization time is 2.0 h. The curing properties and bonding interface of S/PFO copolycondensation adhesive were characterized by simultaneous thermal analysis and scanning electron microscopy. Compared with phenolic resin adhesive, the curing temperature and curing enthalpy of S/PFO copolycondensation adhesive are decreased, which could effectively reduce the production energy consumption. S/PFO copolycondensation adhesive fills the pores of wood surface evenly, forming a thin and continuous film, which is beneficial to improve the bonding strength and water resistance.