In this work, a maleinized soybean oil (SOMA) was melt reacted with polyamide 6 and the thermal, rheological, and morphological properties were evaluated. It was observed that the maleinized soybean oil reacted with polyamide chains, increasing the molecular weight of the polymer. Addition of SOMA also promoted an increase in the amount of α crystalline phase as well as in the crystallinity index. The average amorphous layer thickness (La) was enhanced with the addition of 1 wt % of SOMA, while the average crystalline layer thickness (Lc) were significantly enlarged with the increase in SOMA content, indicating that SOMA structures were located at the interfacial region between amorphous and crystalline. The addition of 5 wt % of SOMA plasticized the PA6, reducing its glass transition temperature. However, the sample containing 5 wt % of SOMA showed an accentuated pseudoplastic behavior as compared to other samples. Addition of SOMA also reduced the tensile strength and increased the elongation at break. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 43050.