Aqueous‐electrolyte resistors were developed for use as dummy loads in pulsed power systems. These resistors are simple, robust, low‐inductance devices capable of operation at high voltage and high current, and may be used to dissipate large pulse energies without catastrophic failure. The resistivity and temperature coefficient of resistivity were measured for several candidate electrolytes, including aqueous solutions of copper sulfate, potassium and aluminum sulfate, potassium dichromate, silver nitrate, sodium dichromate, and sodium thiosulfate. The resistivity of potassium dichromate solution is expressed by the power law &rgr;(&OHgr; cm)=1640C−1.0942for electrolyte concentrations in the rangeC=0.025–25 g/l. The temperature coefficient of resistivity is in the range (1/&rgr;)(∂&rgr;/∂Ts)=−(0.01–0.03)/°C for typical aqueous metal–salt electrolytes and is dependent on the solution temperatureTsand, to a lesser extent, on the electrolyte concentration. Aqueous solutions of potassium dichromate are compatible with brass, copper, and stainless‐steel electrodes and polycarbonate and polymethylmethacrylate insulators, even at high concentration and elevated temperature. Such resistors give long shelf and operational lifetimes. If the maximum allowable resistance change (decrease) during the pulse is 10%, then the energy deposition per unit volume of electrolyte solution is limited to approximately 20 J/cm3for resistors initially at room temperature. ©1995 American Institute of Physics.