The present study aims to identify effects due to uncertain ties in effective dynamic viscosity and thermal conductivity of nanofluid oil laminar natural convection heat transfer in a square enclosure. Numerical simulations have been undertaken incorporating a homogeneous solid-liquid mixture formulation for the two-dimensional buoyancy-driven convection in the enclosure filled with alumina-water nanofluid. Two different formulas from the literature are each considered for the effective viscosity and thermal conductivity of the nanofluid. Simulations have been carried out for the pertinent parameters in the following ranges: the Rayleigh number, Ra-r = 10(3) -10(6) and the volumetric fraction of alumina nanoparticles, phi = 0-4%. Significant difference in the effective dynamic viscosity enhancement of the nanofluid calculated from the two adopted formulas, other than that in the thermal conductivity enhancement, was found to play as a major factor, thereby leading to contradictory results concerning the heat transfer efficacy Of using nanofluid in the enclosure. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.