Three phenolic resins were used to study the effect of resin structure and its percentage content on the bonding properties of nitrile rubber-based adhesives. The phenolic resins studied are derived from phenol, resorcinol and para-t-butyl phenol, and are of novalac type. These resins were characterized by infra-red and thermal studies. Several formulations were prepared by varying the phenolic resin/nitrile rubber ratio and these formulations were tested for viscosity and bonding properties. At a given resin-to-rubber ratio, the viscosity for resorcinol-formaldehyde resin was higher than phenol-formaldehyde resin followed by para-t-butyl phenol-formaldehyde resin. The peel strength of nitrile rubber-based adhesive prepared from resorcinol-formaldehyde resin was higher than adhesives that from para-t-butyl phenol-formaldehyde resin followed by phenol-formaldehyde resin. The lap shear strength of nitrile rubber-based adhesive containing para-t-butyl phenol-formaldehyde resin was higher than of adhesives containing the other two resins. The trend observed in peel strength could be explained on the basis of hydrogen bonding between hydroxyl groups of phenolic resin (adhesive) and hydroxyl groups of the starch-coated canvas cloth (adherend), whereas the trend observed in lap shear strength could be explained on the basis of extent of linearity in the resin structure.