A study is made of the steady flow in an incompressible,magnetohydrodynamic Oldroyd 6-constant fluid by the motion of an infinite plate. The analytical solution of the non-linear problem is obtained by the homotopy analysis method. The manner in which the various material parameters affect the structure of the velocity profile is delineated. Also a comparison of the present solution is made with the solution of an Oldroyd 3-constant fluid. (C) 2003 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.