In this study, we report the synthesis and holographic characterization of polycarbonates containing an azobenzene group in their side‐chains. The polycarbonate (DR‐PC) was synthesized by the polyaddition reaction of Disperse Red 19 (DR 19) and carbon dioxide in N‐methyl‐2‐pyrrolidone for 24 h in air, and we investigated the mechanism in the presence of potassium carbonate. The film of polycarbonate was obtained by casting onto a slide glass in N,N‐dimethylformamide. The diffraction efficiency of the polycarbonate film was measured as a function of time and intensity of the induced laser. Independently of the intensity of the writing beam, the maximum diffraction efficiency in all DR‐PC films reached about 0.25%. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry