The thermal decomposition of diethyidithiocarbamato tellurium (IV) (TDEC) is investigated by simultaneous TG/DTG/DSC-FTIR method in nitrogen atmosphere. Experimental results indicate that the TDEC decomposition goes through two stages, namely, the initial elimination of C2H5-N=C=S, S and C2H5 with a molar ratio of 1:13, and the subsequent loss Of CS2, N(C2H5)(2) and C2H5-N=C=S with a molar ratio of 1: 1:2. The trustworthy model-free kinetic approach has been used for characterization of the nonisothermal decomposition of TDEC. Our study shows that the activation energy for the two stages decomposition of TDEC greatly depends on the extent of conversion, implicating that the pyrolysis of TDEC features multi-step characteristics. (C) 2006 Published by Elsevier B.V.