The quantitative experimental data on the evolution of gas temperature (T ) and vibrational temperature (T v ) of molecular oxygen behind the strong shock wave front (T = 4,000 10,800 K) were used for determination of oxygen vibrational relaxation time and dissociation rate constants under thermal nonequilibrium conditions. Some of theoretical models of thermal nonequilibrium dissociation were tested using the measured pro¦les of the T v and T .