In this work, the influence of the initial chemical potential gradient, stirring speed, and polymer type on sulfamethoxazole (SMX) crystal growth kinetics was systematically investigated through density functional theory (DFT) calculations, experimental measurements and the two-step chemical potential gradient model. To investigate the influence of different conditions on the thermodynamic driving force of SMX crystal growth, SMX solubilities in different polymer solutions were studied. Four model polymers effectively improved SMX solubility. It was further found that polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose (HPMC) played a crucial role in inhibiting SMX crystal growth. However, polyethylene glycol (PEG) promoted SMX crystal growth. The effect of the polymer on the crystal growth mechanisms of SMX was further analyzed by the two-step chemical potential gradient model. In the system containing PEG 6000, crystal growth is dominated by the surface reaction. However, in the system containing PEG 20000, crystal growth is dominated by both the surface reaction and diffusion. In addition, DFT calculations results showed that HPMC and PVP could form strong and stable binding energies with SMX, indicating that PVP and HPMC had the potential ability to inhibit SMX crystal growth.