Blends of crystallizable poly(viny1 alcohol) (PVA) with poly(N-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone) (PVP) made from aqueous solutions appear to be miscible in the whole composition range according to DSC results. A large negative value of the interaction parameter between the two polymers was found from melting point depressions. IR spectroscopy evidenced compatibility of the t w o polymers on a molecular level. DSC, density and IR results all show a proportion of pure PVA crystallites in blends, which decreases with increasing PVP content and becomes nil at about 50 wt.-% of PVP. However, close examination of the hydroxyl stretching region of the blends indicates the presence of organized regions of PVA beyond this limit. According to 1R results, the sequence of decreasing hydrogen-bonding power should be the following: multiple hydroxyl-hydroxyl bonding in organized PVA regions, hydroxyl-carbonyl bonding between [he two polymers, and simple hydrogen-hydrogen bonding in amorphous PVA regions. It appedrs that the PVA component can be held in the amorphous slate by hydrogen bonding with the PVP component when there is a sufficient amount of the latter in the blend. The amorphous part of PVA is compatible with PVP, but the crystallizable part is not in its most stable form.~2 5 -I I 6~/ 8 9 / $ n 3 .N