A method is suggested for characterizing viscoelastic fluids in an approximate but useful way for the description of flow in complicated geometries. This method rests on the determination of a zero‐shear limiting viscosity, a characteristic time, and a dimensionless parameter relating to the slope of a log‐log plot of viscosity vs. shear rate in the “power law” region. It is then shown how such parameters can be used in correlating experimental data on pressure drops through packed beds at constant volumetric flow rate. This is done by a combination of a porous medium model calculation and dimensional analysis. It is shown how the characteristic time of the fluid can be used to designate regions of behavior where elastic effects are important.