The gas permeability and stability of foam films stabilized by n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltoside (beta-C(12)G(2)) were determined. The permeability coefficient (K, cm/s) and the mean film lifetime were measured as a function of the surfactant concentration. The films are less permeable than those stabilized by other surfactants at comparable conditions. The permeability coefficient decreases with increasing surfactant concentration. It does not show a remarkable dependence on the salt concentration. Stable Newton black foam films (NBFs) are formed above a surfactant concentration of 3.9 x 10(-6) M beta-C(12)G(2) in the presence of 0.2 M NaCl. The theory of nucleation hole formation in NBFs was applied to describe the observed dependencies of the permeability and film stability on the surfactant concentration. The theory gave satisfactory relation to the experiment.