Novel polyimide-gamma-Fe2O3 hybrid nanocomposite films (PI/gamma-Fe2O3) has been developed from the poly (amic acid) salt of oxydianiline with different weight percentages (5, 10, 15 wt %) of gamma-Fe2O3 using tetrahydrofuran (THF) and N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMAc) as aprotic solvents. The prepared polyimide-gamma-Fe2O3 nanocomposite films were characterized for their structure, morphology, and thermal behavior employing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron micrograph (SEM), transmission electron micrograph (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), C-13-NMR, and thermal analysis (TGA/DSC) techniques. These studies showed the homogenous dispersion of gamma-Fe2O3 in the polyimide matrix with an increase in the thermal stability of the composite films on gamma-Fe2O3 loadings. Magnetization measurements (magnetic hysteresis traces) have shown very high values of coercive force indicating their possible use in memory devices and in other related applications. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.