Abietic acid was isolated from rosin by means of reaction-crystallization coupled with exposure to ultrasonic waves, and it was then characterized by its specific rotation, infrared spectra, and C-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra. The thermal decomposition of abietic acid in argon atmosphere was studied under nonisothermal conditions using TG-DTG techniques with heating rates of S, 10, 20, and 25 K/min. For the kinetic study, the nonisothermal kinetic parameters were obtained via the analysis of the TG-DTG curves by using the Flynn-Wall-Ozawa (FWO) method, the Kissinger method, and the integral method. The results showed that the nonisothermal decomposition mechanism of abietic acid in argon atmosphere followed Mampel Power law with n = 3/2, whose differential and integral forms were f(alpha) = 2/3 alpha(-1/2) and G(alpha) = alpha(3/2). The apparent activation energy E-a and the pre-exponential factor A were 123.44 kJ/mol and 1.78 x 10(11) s(-1), respectively. The kinetic equation can be expressed as da/dt = 1.19 x 10(11) alpha(-1/2) exp(-1.48 x 10(4)/T). The thermodynamic parameters (Delta H double dagger, Delta G double dagger, and Delta S double dagger) were calculated as well.