Five kinds of polylactides (PLAs), with different D-lactide contents and tacticities, were subjected to high-speed melt-spinning experiments. In addition to stereochemical purity, the PLA types differed in molecular mass and molecular mass distribution. The properties of the different PLA materials were characterized by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic mechanical analysis, size exclusion chromatography, and H-1-NMR and C-13-NMR spectroscopy. The material was spun with a high-speed spinning process within the range 2000-5000 m/min. The physical and tensile properties of the fibers were determined. The maximum tensile properties of the fibers were a 300 MPa tenacity at an elongation at break of 30% and a tensile modulus of 6.8 GPa. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.