Rheological characteristics of molasses containing different levels of starch were investigated at 40, 45, 50, 55, and 60 degreesC. The molasses behaved as a shear thinning fluid and the power law model described well the shear stress shear rate behavior. The consistency index increased with the addition of starch and decreased with the rise in temperature. The flow behavior index was found to decrease with the increase in temperature but at 60 degreesC the values increased indicating the effect of temperature marring the effect of starch. Activation energy was determined using the Arrhenius equation and it was found that the activation energy of molasses decreased with the addition of starch and the Arrhenius constant seems to carry a definite weightage. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.