The nylon 1010/ethylene-vinyl acetate rubber (EVM)/maleated ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVA-g-MAH) ternary blends were prepared. The effect of EVM/EVA-g-MAH ratio on the toughness of blends was examined. A super tough nylon 1010 blends were obtained by the incorporation of both EVM and EVA-g-MAH. Impact essential work of fracture (EWF) model was used to characterize the fracture behavior of the blends. The nylon/EVM/EVA-g-MAH (80/15/5) blend had the highest total fracture energy at a given ligament length (5 MM) and the highest dissipative energy density among all the studied blends. Scanning electron microscopy images showed the EVM and EVA-g-MAH existed as spherical particles in nylon 1010 matrix and their size decreased gradually with increasing EVA-g-MAH content. Large plastic deformation was observed on the impact fracture surface of the nylon/EVM/EVA-g-MAH (80/15/5) blend and related to its high impact strength. Then with increasing EVA-g-MAH proportion, the matrix shear yielding of nylori/EVM/EVA-g-MAH blends became less obvious. EVM and EVA-g-MAH greatly increased the apparent viscosity of nylon 1010, especially at low shear rates. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 47: 877-887, 2009