Nanocomposites of cellulose acetate and an organically modified montmorillonite (CA/MMTO) were prepared by melt intercalation in a twin-screw extruder, using two different plasticizers: di-octyl phthalate (DOP) and triethyl citrate (TEC). The influence of plasticizer type and the organoclay added to the structure, the morphology, and the thermal properties of the nanocomposites was investigated. XRD and SAXS results indicated a significant CA or/and plasticizer intercalation in the clay gallery for the CA/MMTO nanocomposites. In addition, the images obtained by TEM show that the morphology of CA/MMTO nanocomposites is made up of intercalated and exfoliated silicate layers. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of CA with DOP or TEC decreased in at almost same value, which shows the characteristics of both additives as plasticizers for cellulose acetate chains. Tensile tests indicate that the nanocomposites with either of the two plasticizers presented the same performance with respect to material properties. The results demonstrated that, for some applications, TEC is an useful alternative to plasticize CA in order to substitute DOP, a non eco-friendly plasticizer. (c) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2011