In this work, the adhesion strength between poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) fibres and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) was studied. The effects of atmospheric plasma treatment, used to increase adhesion strength between PET fibres and the rubber matrix, were investigated and compared. It was confirmed that lubricants on the fibres caused a decrease in adhesion strength between the plasma treated reinforcing PET fibres and the SBR rubber matrix. These lubricants can be removed by acetone. When washed and treated in plasma, a substantial improvement in adhesion strength was observed. No ageing in air before combination with the rubber matrix was observed. This confirmed that the plasma streamers caused the creation of a new, relatively stable chemical species on the polymer surface. It suggests that the surface modification of PET fibres by plasma treatment at atmospheric gas pressure is a suitable and technologically applicable method for the improvement of adhesion strength of polyester reinforcing materials to rubber. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.