The desire to prepare a lower-cost soy-based adhesive has led to an interest in using the abundant and inexpensive soy flour (SF) as a substitute for expensive soy protein isolates (SPI) in wood adhesives. However, the weakness of this adhesive is poor water-resistance and bonding strength due to a low protein content, which limits its application in the wood industry. The objective of this research was to provide a simple and useful approach for improving the adhesion performance of SF-based adhesive by introducing a small addition of melamine-urea-formaldehyde (MUF) resin into the cured system. The optimum addition level of MUF resin, as well as the adhesion performance and conformation change of SF-based adhesive, were investigated. The analytical results indicated that the co-condensed methylene bridges were formed through the reaction of methylol groups of MUF resin with soy units during the hot-press process. The addition of MUF resin, not only significantly decrease the viscosity of SF-based adhesive but also increase its water-resistance and wet shear strength value. The SF-based adhesive containing 20% MUF resin, is a relatively low-cost adhesive, has a reasonable viscosity, and moreover can pass the Chinese Industrial Standard requirement (>= 0.7 MPa) for interior plywood panels. (C) Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2011