Laser light scattering has been used to study the solution behavior in aqueous NaCl of poly(acrylamide) (PAM), polymerized by using two different polymerization processes : solution(S) and microemulsion(M). Results show that poly(acrylamide) samples polymerized from the microemulsion polymerization process behave as branched flexible chains, but poly(acrylamide) samples synthesized from solution polymerization exhibit a fairly expanded flexible coil-chain behavior. By combining the static light scattering results with the characteristic linewidth distribution as determined by a Laplace inversion of the intensity-intensity time correlation function, the molecular weight distribution (MWD) and the radius of gyration distribution (RGD) could be estimated. The molecular weight dependence of the z-average diffusion coefficient (D-z) was determined during this conversion, with D-z(0) = (3.05 x 10(-4)) M(w)(-0.585) cm(2) s(-1) and D-z(0) = (1.52 x 10(-4)) M(w)(-0.518) cm(2) s(-1) for PAM(S) and PAM(M), respectively, with the weight average molecular weight M(w) expressed in g mol(-1) and D-z(0) in cm(2) s(-1). The superscript zero denotes the value at infinite dilution. The smaller alpha(D) value of 0.52 for PAM(M) suggests that PAM(M) could have a fairly compact, but still soluble, flexible coil-chain structure, possibly arising asa result of (apparent) branching. Two different models, polydisperse branched chains and branched soft spheres, were used to fit the particle scattering factor obtained from SLS measurements. The results show that the particle scattering factors of:samples PAM(M) (but not of PAM(S)) could be fitted satisfactorily by either model. Concentration and angular dependence of the mean characteristic linewidth, as well as the molecular weight distribution derived by using the CONTIN analysis, are presented. The origin of the apparent branching in the microemulsion prepared poly(acrylamide) is shown to be a noncovalent aggregation in 1 M NaCl which is not manifest formamide solutions of the same polymer.