In this study, the shear flow properties of Poly(p-phenylene benzobisoxazole) (PBO)/poly(phosphoric acid) (PPA) spinning dope were studied by means of capillary rheometer. The effect of shear stress, temperature, PBO concentration, and PBO molecular weight on the apparent viscosity of PBO/PPA dope was discussed. The results showed that the apparent viscosity of the dope decreased with the increase of the shear stress and the temperature. The flow behavior index increased with the increase of temperature, which indicated that the non-Newtonian behavior of the dope became weaker at high temperature. Moreover, it was also found that at high shear stress, the apparent viscosity of the dope was insensitive to the temperature, PBO molecular weight, and PBO concentration. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.