Literature on the oxidative pyrolysis of propane is very sparse for temperatures above 600 OC. Hence the present work was carried out between 600 and 700 OC at 1 atm total pressure using a plug flow quartz reactor and the MS10-C2 mass spectrometer as the analytical tool. Small amounts of oxygen were added into the propane stream such that the oxygen can only participate in the early stages of reaction, thus throwing some light on the nature of the initiation reactions in pyrolysis and oxidation systems. Results were compared with computer predictions. The following observations were made: (1) a faster rate of decomposition of propane in the presence of oxygen than in its absence; (2) a product distribution (at the initial stages) in order of magnitude C3H8, C2H4, CH,, H, , and C2Hs as compared to the order CH, , C2H4, C3H6, H, , and C2H6 in the absence of oxygen; (3) the mechanism reported in the literature for temperatures between 500 and 600 "C is also operative at higher temperatures; (4) a 28 reaction step model fits the experimental data. The role of H 0 2 in relation to the observed product spectrum is also fully discussed