Effects of monomers and binders in the photopolymer on holographic storage properties are studied. Under the same initiator conditions, diffraction efficiency of photopolymer with an acrylamide monomer is significantly larger than that of acrylic acid and N-hydroxymethylacrylamide monomers, respectively. N-hydroxymethylacrylamide can improve optical quality, reduce scattering intensity, and increase the shelf life time of the films. Compared with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), polymerization degree of monomer in the polyvinylalcohol (PVA) is higher. Diffraction efficiency and energetic sensitivity are larger in the PVA with a high average molecular weight than in the PVA with low average molecular weight. The PVA with a high average molecular weight can be used to prepare thick films, and it is an important factor to realize the mass capacity of holographic data storage.