In this Letter, the stress transfer properties between single-/multi-walled nanotubes and polymer matrix are theoretically studied through the uses of local density approximation, elastic shells and conventional fibre pullout models. Several parameters such as the wall thickness, Young's modulus, nanotubes' volume fraction and chiral vectors of the nanotubes were considered in the study. According to the analytical results, it was found that the maximum shear stress, at the bond interface between the nanotubes and matrix, increases with increasing the nanotubes' wall thickness of nanotube/polymer composites. Besides, the stress transfer length of zigzag nanotube is comparatively shorter than those of the armchair and chiral nanotubes. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.