The isothermal, planar Poiseuille flow of a weakly compressible Oldroyd-B fluid is considered under the assumption that the density of the fluid obeys a linear equation of state. A perturbation analysis for all the primary flow variables is carried out with the isothermal compressibility serving as the perturbation parameter. The sequence of partial differential equations which results from the perturbation procedure is solved analytically up to second order. The effects of the compressibility parameter, the aspect ratio, and the Weissenberg number are discussed. In particular, it is demonstrated that compressibility has a significant effect on the transverse velocity and the first normal stress difference. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.