PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to find a new toughening agent for diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) resin and to check effectiveness of this new toughening agent to obtain toughness and chemical resistance of cured epoxy.Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, an investigation was carried out to synthesise, characterise and to study the toughening reaction of amine functional aniline furfuraldehyde condensate (AFAFFC) with DGEBA resin. AFAFFC was first synthesised from the reaction of aniline and furfuraldehyde in the acid medium (pH‐4) and characterised by FT‐IR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and concentration of primary and secondary amine analysis. Then various formulations were made by mixing DGEBA, AFAFFC and ambient temperature curing agent triethylene tetramine (TETA) in different compositions and the modified networks were evaluated to their mechanical and thermal properties. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of toughened epoxy were also reported.FindingsThe resulting networks developed a two‐phase microstructure upon network formation and displayed significantly improved fracture toughness. The dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) studies showed two‐phase morphology in the cured networks where AFAFFC particles were dispersed. TGA showed that the AFAFFC modified epoxy network was thermally stable up to around 311°C.Research limitations/implicationsThe toughening agent AFAFFC has been synthesised by using aniline and furfuraldehyde. By changing amine and aldehyde other toughening agents could be synthesised and efficiency of these toughening agent for epoxy resin could also be studied.Originality/valueThe method for toughening of epoxy resin (DGEBA) is novel and relevant, as the toughened products have high performance applications in protective coatings, adhesives for most substrates and matrix resins for composites.