Isobaric (vapour + liquid) equilibrium measurements have been reported for the binary mixture of (1-pentanol + propionic acid) at (53.3 and 91.3) kPa. Liquid phase activity coefficients were calculated from the equilibrium data. The thermodynamic consistency of the experimental results was checked using the area test and direct test methods. According to these criteria, the measured (vapour + liquid) equilibrium results were found to be consistent thermodynamically. The obtained results showed a maximum boiling temperature azeotrope at both pressures studied. The measured equilibrium results were satisfactorily correlated by the models of Wilson, UNIQUAC, and NRTL activity coefficients. The results obtained indicate that the performance of the NRTL model is superior to the Wilson and UNIQUAC models for correlating the measured isobaric (vapour + liquid) equilibrium data. (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Ltd.