An exact solution for the thin film flow of a third-grade fluid on an inclined plane is presented. This is a corrected version of the solution obtained by Hayat et al. (Chaos Solitons Fractals 38:1336-1341, 2008). An alternative parametric form for the solution is also derived. The variation of the dimensionless velocity and average velocity is given for a wide range of parameter values. An asymptotic solution for large parameter values is obtained giving rise to a boundary-layer structure at the free surface. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.