Waste crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) was partially decrosslinked to obtain a thermoplastic recycled material through solid-state mechanochemical milling with pan-mill equipment at ambient temperature. The gel fraction and size exclusion chromatography measurements showed that the gel content of XLPE decreased remarkably with increasing cycles of mechanochemical milling, whereas the molecular weight of the sol fraction was not significantly reduced; this indicated the realization of partial decrosslinking during mechanochemical milling. Differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the melting temperature of decrosslinked polyethylene increased by 3.5 degrees C because the bigger crystallites size resulting from the higher mobility of the chain segment. The improved thermoplastic characteristic of XLPE after mechanochemical milling were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy and rheological measurement. The mechanical properties of recycled XLPE also achieved significant improvement after mechanochemical milling. Solid-state mechanochemical milling is a cost-effective, reliable, and environmentally friendly method for recycling XLPE at ambient temperature without any additional materials or chemicals. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 257-264, 2011