Many kinds of nylon are known. One family, designated nylon-XY, is derived from diamines and dicarboxylic acids of carbon chain lengths X and Y, respectively. An important example is nylon-6,6 (C₁₂H₂₂N₂O₂). Another family, designated nylon-Z, is derived from aminocarboxylic acids with carbon chain length Z. An example is nylon- [6].

Nylon clothes and similar products are made not from chips but from fibers of nylon, which are effectively strands of plastic yarn. They're made by melting nylon chips and drawing them through a spinneret, which is a wheel or plate with lots of tiny holes in it.

Nylon is the most useful synthetic material with applications varying from daily life activities to industries. It is a plastic which can be drawn into fibres or moulded into daily products for making amenities.

The Nylon structure is crucial in determining its properties, such as melting point and physical, thermal, and mechanical properties. The amide groups in the chemical structure of nylon create a polarity level that contributes to its relatively high melting point.