In this study, first the pure polystyrenes (PS) with different molecular weights (350 x 103 and 500 x 103) have been modified by the chemical modification with succinic anhydride (SA), maleic anhydride (MA), and phthalic anhydride (PhA) and then the polystyrene based composites (CPS) prepared by addition of modified polystyrenes (MPS) into pure PS (with the molecular weight of 230 x 103) in weight % ratios of 90 : 10, 80 : 20, and 70 : 30. Ultrasonic measurements were performed on PS/MPS blends of different weight percent of MPSs by use of pulse echo method with 5-MHz frequency at room temperature. Elastic properties namely; longitudinal modulus (L), Young's modulus (E), bulk modulus (K) and shear modulus (G), Poisson's ratio (mu), and acoustic impedance (Z) were calculated from the ultrasonic velocities values measured and densities values obtained experimentally. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been used for determining the microstructure of composites. The variations of these parameters with increasing MPSs weight percentage content in PS/MPS from 10 to 30 have been discussed. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012