The structure of a normal shock wave is calculated on the basis of the hydrodynamics of fast processes [A. D. Khonkin, Fluid Mech. Sov. Res.9, 93 (1980)] to investigate the validity of the theory for this classical problem. The analysis shows that the theory predicts the continuous shock profile to exist only forM≤1.27. The shock thicknesses and the asymmetry factors resulting from the Mott‐Smith method, the Navier–Stokes and the Burnett equations, and also from the experiments and simulations are compared to the present results for a gas of Maxwell molecules.