Polymer/lavered-silicate nanocomposites have gathered momentum as cost-effective and versatile materials since the middle of the 20th century. Many publications discuss the chemistry of organomodification and properties of nanocomposites, but relatively few deal with the significance of processing conditions. This article takes into account three mixing parameters and discusses the contribution of each toward nanocomposite formation. Organomodified natural sodium-type bentonite clay was used in this Study. The nanocomposites formed were characterized by X-ray diffraction and mechanical property tests. Response surface regression was used to optimize the tensile modulus. The analysis shows that nanocomposite formation is promoted by a diffusion mechanism and that the interactions of parameters are as important as individual parameters. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.