Unsteady boundary layer flows generated in an incompressible, homogeneous, nonrotating viscous fluid bounded by a rigid wavy plate are studied theoretically. The Laplace transform method is employed to obtain exact solutions of the unsteady boundary layer equations in a wavy plate configuration. The structures of the unsteady velocity distribution and the associated boundary layers are determined explicitly and several particular solutions are recovered as special cases of this analysis. The physical interpretation of the mathematical results are examined. © 1973 Birkhäuser Verlag.