Twenty neamine derivatives having a nucleobase, adenine, cytosine, guanine or thimine with a lysine or an argine as a linker and, also, without linker were synthesized and their binding specificity for HIV TAR RNA was studied. Any nucleobase modification on neamine enhanced their binding affinities for TAR RNA. The binding affinity of neamine derivatives having a nucleobase at the closer position to neamine does not depend on the base, but having farther position has shown base specificity for TAR binding.