Polyglycolic acid (PGA) fibers were prepared by melt-spinning process in this report. The effects of spinning parameters, such as windup rates and drawn ratio, on the mechanical properties of the fibers were discussed by analyzing the internal stress of as-spun fibers, axial sound velocity, fiber tenacity, etc. The results showed that windup rate had a slight effect on the macromolecular orientation degree of the as-spun fibers, which was quite unusual for melt spinning, whereas, the subsequent drawing process effectively increased the macromolecular orientation degree of the PGA fibers and consequently increased the tensile strength of the fibers. Low internal stress of as-spun fibers obtained at lower windup rate led to higher drawing ratio, and the drawn fibers possessed relatively excellent mechanical properties. As a contrast, higher windup rate resulted in the strong internal stress of the as-spun fibers, which had a negative influence on the drawing process, and so the tensile strength of the drawn fibers was relatively poor. Therefore, PGA fiber with perfect mechanical performance could be prepared at the technical parameters of lower windup rate and higher drawing multiples as well as slow drawing rate. (C) 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.