A kinetic model was developed to describe the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of 2-(N,N-dimethylamino) ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA). The model was based on a polymerization mechanism,which included the atom transfer equilibrium for primary radical, the propagation of growing polymer radical, and the atom transfer equilibrium for the growing polymer radical. An experiment was carried out to measure the conversion of monomer, the number-average molecular weight of polymer and molecular weight distribution for the ATRP process of DMAEMA. The experimental data were used to correlate the kinetic model and rate constants were obtained. The rate constants of activation and deactivation in the atom transfer equilibrium for primary radical are 1.0 x 104 L·mol-1.s-1 and 0.04 L·mol-1.s-1, respectively. The rate constant of the propagation of growing polymer radical is 8.50 L·mol-1.s-1, and the rate constants of activation and deactivation in the atom transfer equilibrium for growing polymer radical are 0.045 L.mol-1.s-1 and 1.2 × 105 L·mol-1.s- 1, respectively. The values of the rate constants represent the features of the ATRP process. The kinetic model was used to calculate the ATRP process of DMAEMA. The results show that the calculations agree well with the measurements.