Aim: The purpose of this study was to compare polydioxanone (PDS), polyglycolic acid (Dexon), polyglactin 910 (Vicryl) and chromic catgut suture materials for closure of skin incision in rats. Material and method: Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley male rats were used. Two centimetre skin incisions were made in each rat and were closed using randomly assigned PDS, Vicryl, Dexon or chromic catgut. On the 7th, 14th and 28th days, skin incisions were evaluated for dehiscence, oedema and infection. Histopathological cross-sections from the skin incision sites were examined under light microscope. Results: The macroscopic appearance of all specimens was not statistically different. The statistical difference in mean scores of most of the histopathological variables between suture materials was not significant. Only on the 7th day were fibrosis scores of Vicryl, Dexon and PDS statistically different from those of catgut (p < 0.01). The score for tissue inflammatory reaction near Vicryl was higher than for the others on the 7th and 14th days but this difference was not statistically significant. summary