The present study concerns the rheological behavior of the Jebel Shemsi clay dispersions (Shp). Shp is an interstratified illite/smectite clay from southern Tunisia. The influences of clay concentration, NaCl, and xanthan-a semirigid polymer-on the yield stress, the elastic modulus. and the xanthan adsorption were investigated. The sol-gel transition and the scale laws of rheometric properties are established. Progressive addition of NaCl to the clay dispersions decreases the thickness of the diffuse double layer, which makes the system rigid, increasing the yield and the elastic modulus. In the presence of xanthan, the negative surface charges become higher and the repulsive interparticle interactions increase: consequently the yield and the elastic modulus increase. The xanthan adsorption on the clay particle surface increases slightly with the NaCl concentration. The particle aggregation due to the salt and the particle dispersion due to the polymer are observed. The behavior of this interstratified clay is compared to that found for pure smectite. The 15% illite stratified with smectite in the Shp clay does not change the gels' rheological properties significantly. Meanwhile the amount of Shp clay needed to obtain a gel is more important than in the case of a pure smectite. (C) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.