[en] Full text: The measurement of the time required to initiate oxidation, or oxidation induction time (OIT), by means of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) is one of the methods for the evaluation of degradation of polymeric materials. It presents interest in the area of radiation degradation because in many cases, such as in polyethylene, the radiation-initiated oxidation is the mechanism responsible for degradation. In this work we describe the trial and completion of the method for a commercial polyethylene processed by extrusion without special stabilization and gamma irradiated in a dose range from 0 to 300 kGy. As a reference for the estimation of radiation effects we performed tensile tests, particularly the elongation at break, which is considered as the property most sensitive to radiation induced alterations. We found a reasonable correlation between the results of OIT and elongation at break in the region of higher doses applied, while in the low dose region the OIT method appeared as the more sensitive