This paper is a detailed review of the strain rate dependence of some mechanical properties of polymer composite materials. An attempt is made to present and summarize much of the published work relating to the effect of strain rate studies done in the past on the tensile, shear, compressive, and flexural properties of composite materials to better understand the strain rate effects on these mechanical properties of fiber-reinforced polymer composite materials. (C) 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.