The transport behavior of natural rubber/ethylene vinyl acetate (NR/EVA) blends has been investigated using aromatic hydrocarbons as probe molecules, in the temperature range of 26-56degreesC. It has been observed that the solvent uptake decreases with increase in the EVA content of the blends. The blends were crosslinked by three systems, viz. sulfur, dicumyl peroxide (DCP), and a mixture consisting of sulfur and peroxide. The DCP crosslinked system exhibited the lowest solvent uptake. The differences in the transport behavior of the blends, crosslinked by different modes, has been described in terms of the nature of crosslinks introduced between the macromolecular chains during vulcanization. The mechanism of transport has been found to deviate from the regular Fickian behavior, observed with conventional rubbers, with an increase in EVA in the blends. The dependence of the transport coefficients on blend composition, crosslinking systems, nature of penetrants, and temperature was studied. The blend-solvent interaction parameter, enthalpy, and entropy of sorption have also been estimated from the transport data. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.