Polypropylene (PP) samples were treated in an electron cyclotron resonance plasma with several gases and under different treatment conditions (pressure, treatment time, rf potential). The surfaces were chemically characterizedinsituby x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Changes in the electrical resistance of the surface layer were analyzed by four points measurements. Noble gas plasma treatments led to a great decrease (ten orders of magnitude) of the resistance, whereas reactive gas plasma treatments induced no modification of the resistance. Taking into account that the treated layer corresponds to the ion penetration depth, an estimation gives 0.1 &OHgr; cm for the bulk resistivity of He plasma treated PP. For noble gases, this value depends on the plasma gas and on the ion kinetic energy. The resistance decrease is explained by a dehydrogenation and an increase of carbon–carbon bonds. During reactive gas plasma treatments, the incorporation of new chemical species prevents this graphitization. Correlations of the resistance with XPS measurements and comparisons with literature on high energetic ion treatments allow a better understanding of the effects of the plasma treatment. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.