We suggest a thick braneworld model in the squared curvature gravity theory.
Despite the appearance of higher order derivatives, the localization of gravity
and various bulk matter fields is shown to be possible. The existence of the
normalizable gravitational zero mode indicates that our four-dimensional
gravity is reproduced. In order to localize the chiral fermions on the brane,
two types of coupling between the fermions and the brane forming scalar is
introduced. The first coupling leads us to a Schr\"odinger equation with a
volcano potential, and the other a P\"oschl-Teller potential. In both cases,
the zero mode exists only for the left-hand fermions. Several massive KK states
of the fermions can be trapped on the brane, either as resonant states or as
bound states.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures and 1 table, references added, improved version
to be published in JHE