AbstractEven though polybutadiene rubber (BR) is a hydrophobic polymer, BR/organoclay nanocomposites are prepared successfully without a compatibilizer by using conventional compounding method. The main objective of this article is to investigate the effect of processing steps on the dispersion of organoclays in the BR matrix. The effect of each processing step on the dispersion of organoclays is studied by using X‐ray diffraction (XRD). Also, the effect of the organoclay content on the mechanical properties is studied. According to the XRD results, mixing BR/organoclay compounds with vulcanization accelerator (MBTS) in a two‐roll mill leads to the exfoliation of organoclays in this article. However, when BR/organoclay nanocomposites were heated at 155°C for the vulcanization as a next processing step, organoclays aggregated to become intercalated structure. The tensile and tear strength of BR/organoclay (9 phr) nanocomposite are 16.6 times and 3 times larger than those of BR, respectively. Over 100% and 300% modulus of BR, 300% and 350 % improvements are observed for those of BR/organoclay (9 phr) nanocomposite, respectively. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013