Solutions for a class of nonlinear second-order differential equations, arising in diffusion of chemically reactive species of a non-Newtonian fluid immersed in a porous medium over a stretching sheet, are obtained. Furthermore, using the Brouwer fixed point theorem, existence results are established. Moreover, the exact analytical solutions (for some special cases) are obtained. The results obtained for the diffusion characteristics reveal many interesting behaviors that warrant further study of the effects of reaction rate on the transfer of chemically reactive species. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.