Fumed silica is a well-known mineral filler of epoxy and polyurethane adhesives. Although effective, the small particle size and the relative high cost of fumed silicas suggest the need for an alternative filler. In this study, the usefulness of adding a natural hydrated magnesium silicate (sepiolite) as a new filler in solvent-based polyurethane (PU) adhesive formulations has been demonstrated. The rheological and adhesion performance of the sepiolite-filled PU adhesive was compared with that in PU adhesives containing fumed silicas. The addition of a filler to PU adhesives provided an increase in viscosity, imparted thixotropy and pseudoplasticity to the adhesive solution, produced an increase in storage and loss moduli, and improved the rheology of the PU. The mechanical properties of adhesive films were increased by adding filler, mainly with fumed silica. On the other hand. the immediate T-peel strength of roughened or (roughened + chlorinated) styrene-butadiene rubber/PU adhesive joints was greatly improved in filled PU adhesives. The effects produced by adding sepiolite or fumed silica to the adhesives were very similar, although in general more noticeable in fumed silica filled PU due to the formation of hydrogen bonds between the filler and the solvent and/or the polyurethane (in sepiolite-filled adhesives, van der Waals forces seemed to be responsible for the interactions between the filler and the solvent and/or polyurethane).