The effects of screw configurations, that is, the staggering angles and disc widths of the kneading blocks, on grafting reactive extrusion for maleic anhydride grafted low-density polyethylene were investigated in a corotating twin-screw extruder. Samples were collected from three positions along the screw and the die exit. The grafting degree (GD) of the specimens was evaluated by titration. It was found that the kneading block configurations had a significant influence on the grafting reactive extrusion. In addition, another three groups of extrusion experiments were performed to explore the intrinsic relationship between the GD, the degree of fill in the screw channel, the residence time distribution (RTD), and the mixing intensity in various screw configurations. The experimental results indicated that the location of the melting endpoint significantly affected the position at which the reaction began; the degree of fill, RTD, and mixing performance of the screw played important roles in the grafting reaction. The reverse kneading blocks with a narrow disc width, which had a high degree of fill and good mixing capacity, enhanced the increase in GD along the screw during the reactive extrusion. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.