In this work, poly(acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene) (ABS) was subjected to five subsequent extrusion cycles and the effect of prolonged exposure to heat and shear stresses on its structural and performance properties was investigated. More specifically, the resulting chemical changes were studied by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, the thermal response was recorded on differential scanning calorimetry thermographs, whereas the thermal stability of reprocessed samples was detected with thermogravimetric analysis. Also, the rheological properties of the aforementioned compounds were investigated via melt flow index tests, to assess their processability during melt mixing and molding processes. Furthermore, the mechanical properties of the obtained composites were investigated and the observed interactions were interpreted in terms of the influence of each component on the functional properties of the final mixture. This attempt might be a contribution to recycling of ABS by means of techniques that include multiple reprocessing. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 49:2269-2275, 2009. (C) 2009 Society of Plastics Engineers