In this paper the stagnation phenomenon occurred in the coat-hanger die is investigated using a three-dimensional finite element method to simulate the polymer fluid flow in the die. The stagnation zone is defined to evaluate the degree of the stagnation. The effects of the inlet flow rate, the slot gap, the manifold angle, and the power-law index on the stagnation are then analyzed numerically. It is found that the manifold angle and the geometric abrupt change between the manifold and the slot have significant influence on the stagnation, and a coat-hariger die with tear-dropped manifolds to be capable of diminishing the stagnation. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.