The principal product from the degradation of polyamide 6 (PA6) is caprolactam, which is a consequence of the intramolecular exchange (cyclization) of PA6. The information obtained from certain thermal analysis techniques, such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), is not sufficiently detailed to study the degradation suffered by PA6 in function of these processes, whereas the study of this degradation using other more precise techniques (sequential pyrolysis) and the application of models (Guggendieim and Kezdy-Jaz-Bruylants methods) gives us more detailed information on the level of degradation in the many and diverse PA6 analyzed. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 114: 713-719, 2009