Thermal degradation of PVC stabilized with barium and cadmium soaps of Khaya senegalensis seed oil was studied by thermogravimetry up to 500 degrees C using a constant heating rate of 10 degrees C min(-1). At temperatures below 300 degrees C, the extents of dehydrochlorination of both the unstabilized and stabilized PVC samples were low (less than 6% conversion). It was found from the values of weight loss that HCl was the only volatile product of degradation of PVC between 170 and 200 degrees C. The rates of dehydrochlorination at about 200 degrees C was of the order of 10(-2)% min(-1), about the same order of magnitude as the values obtained from kinetic studies. The temperatures at which maximum rates of degradation were attained, t(dmax), and the temperatures at which various extents of degradation were attained were used to assess the effectiveness of the metal soaps of Khaya seed oil in stabilizing PVC against thermal degradation.