A comprehensive analysis has been made of the mechanical properties and density of 100 timber species. The correlation between the mechanical properties and wood density has been approximated by a power function type y = aρⁿ. No functional relation has been found between the parameters describing mechanical properties of the cell wall and the wood density. The values of these parameters show great scatter of about ±50% relative to the mean value. An attempt has been made to identify other wood characteristics determining the mechanical properties of wood. The species characterised by extremely high values of the parameters describing mechanical properties of wood have been singled out. The greatest differentiation in the values has been noted for the tensile strength. Among the coniferous species of similar density the differences have reached 113% on average, while among the deciduous species – 143%, at the differences in density being only of 15%.

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