AbstractPoly(alkylene adipate)diols having molar masses of 1500, 2000 and 3000 were stored at temperatures of 25 and 60°C in the presence of low amounts of different alcohols and some polyurethane (PUR) catalysts, such as dibutyltindilaurate (DBTL), dibutyltindiethoxide (DBTEO), dibutyltinoxide (DBTO), and 1,4‐diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO). Alcoholysis was studied using either ethyl acetate (EA) or toluene as solvent. The results were compared with those obtained by examining the behaviour of several dialkyl adipates and ethyl acetate under identical conditions. The alcoholysis in the presence of the tin catalysts proceeds at the same reaction rate without significant decomposition of the catalyst, whereas DABCO is practically inactive. The nucleophilic activity of the alcohols depends on their bulk size rather than their basicity. The resistance of polyalkylene adipates to transesterification increases with the increasing alkyl chain length of diol units in polyester. A partial transesterification of dialkyl adipates takes place too, in spite of ethyl acetate being present in exce