Methacrylic acid (MAA) and methyl methacrylate (MMA) were used as additives for peroxide-cured styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) filled with three inorganic fillers with different particle sizes and surface activity, for example, MgO, Mg(OH)(2), and BaSO4. The experimental results show that the introduction of MAA can improve the mechanical properties of SBR vulcanizates filled with MgO, Mg(OH)(2), or BaSO4. A small amount of MAA leads to significant increases in the modulus, tensile strength, and tear strength. MMA has little effect on the mechanical properties of the SBR vulcanizates. The SEM micrographs show that MAA can improve the interfacial bonding between SBR and the three kinds of fillers. The SBR-filler interaction was studied by Kraus plots. The relationship between the SBR-filler interaction and the mechanical properties was ex-plored. m, a characteristic constant of a filler-SBR matrix, represents the interfacial bonding between fillers and SBR and the accumulated structure of the fillers. At a given phi, a high value of m means a strong interaction between SBR and the filler and, therefore, strong mechanical properties. The Payne effect of the SBR vulcanizates was observed, and the vulcanizates have low storage moduli at high strains and high storage moduli at low strains, and the moduli are nonlinear and increase the nonlinearity as the filler content increases. The loss moduli and loss factor reach their maximums at moderate and high strain amplitudes, respectively. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.