Polyhedral oligosilsequioxane, (POSS) tethered aromatic polyamide nanocomposites with various POSS fractions were prepared through Michael addition between maleimide-containing polyamides and amino-functionalized POSS. The chemical structures of the polyamide-POSS nanocomposites were characterized with Fourier transform infrared and H-1 NMR. The polyamide-POSS nanocomposites exhibited good homogeneity in scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy observations. POSS modification increased the storage modulus and Young's modulus of the polyamides, slightly decreased their glass-transition temperatures from 312 to 305 degrees C, and significantly lowered their dielectric constants from 4.45 to 3.35. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.