A study was conducted to examine the efficacy of carboxylic acid monomers as self-etching primers by measuring the tensile bond strengths between composite resin and dentin. Several kinds of carboxylic acid monomers, such as o-(N-methacryloyl amino)benzoic acid (o-MABA), m-(N-methacryloyl amino)benzoic acid (m-MABA), p-(N-methacryloyl amino)benzoic acid (p-MABA), 4-methacryloxy phthalic acid (4-MPA), 2-(N-methacryloyl amino) terephthalic acid (2-MATPA), and 5-(N-methacryloyl) amino)isophthalic acid (5-MAIPA), were prepared. 4-methacryloxyethyl trimellitic anhydride (4-META) was also used as a component of the self-etching primer. The DMSO solutions of these monomers were used as self-etching primers. The tensile bond strengths between composite resin and dentin were measured after 24 h immersion in water at 37 degrees C. When DMSO was used as a self-etching primer, the bond strengths were below 5 MPa. Among the monocarboxylic acid monomers, m-MABA gave the highest mean bond strength at 60 s application, and 5MAIPA gave the highest mean bond strength at 30 s application among the dicarboxylic acid monomers, although the differences among the values were not always significant. The smear layer was partially dissolved by treatment with the self-etching primer.