Wood particles were modified in a reactive extrusion process with maleated polyethylene (MAPE) and maleated polypropylene (MAPP) compounds. Contents of MADE were varied to study the effect of material composition on grafting efficiency during reactive extrusion, while extruder barrel temperatures and rotational screw speeds were varied to evaluate the effects of processing conditions on the modification of wood particles. Polymer molecular weight effects were followed using MAPP, with different molecular weights. Efficiency of the modification was assessed using FTIR and XPS surface analysis techniques, along with a titrimetric analysis, to verify the esterification reaction between the wood particles and maleated polyolefins. The grafting of maleated polyolefins onto the surface of the wood particles through a reaction of the hydroxyl groups on the wood surface with the maleated groups of the maleated polyolefins was confirmed, while the level of grafting of MAPE onto wood particles was determined to be a function of the MAPE concentration. However, there was no significant difference found in grafting efficiency at different extrusion processing conditions, rather all of the conditions resulted in adequate grafting. Similarly, there was no difference in grafting efficiency with the molecular weight of MAPP. Reactive extrusion was found to be a suitable technique for the modification of wood particles, with maleated polyolefins, for all of the material compositions and processing conditions studied. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.