The photothermal degradation of copolymers of methyl methacrylate (MMA) and n-butyl acrylate (n-BuA) covering the whole composition range has been studied at 165°. The gaseous products, which are relatively minor, are hydrogen, carbon monoxide and methane. The liquid products are predominantly MMA, with n-BuA, n-butanol and n-butyraldehyde as minor products. Infra-red spectral changes in the residue were attributed to lactone formation and associated with butanol formation as in the purely thermal reaction. The cold ring or chain fragment fraction becomes increasingly more abundant as the n-BuA content of the copolymer is increased. All the products and principal features of the reaction are explained in terms of a radical process which is initiated by scission of pendant acrylate units and is propagated by a combination of depropagation and intra-and intermolecular transfer processes, the relative importance of which depends upon copolymer composition. Differences from the thermal reaction and the corresponding reaction in copolymers of methyl methacrylate and methyl acrylate are discussed.