The fact that dissolving a minuscule amount of long-chain polymer molecules in a turbulent pipe flow reduces drastically the frictional drag, has been known for many years. However, many fundamental aspects of this phenomenon are still not well understood, particularly the mechanisms of interaction between the polymer and the solvent. The present paper describes the results of an ongoing project aimed at providing detailed information on the turbulence characteristics of turbulent pipe flow of water with polymer additive. To this end, an experimental program was conducted for measuring the instantaneous longitudinal velocity field employing a two-dimensional Particle Image Velocimetry technique – PIV. Turbulence statistics were obtained from a series of approximately 2500 instantaneous velocity fields measured for each flow configuration characterized by the pipe Reynolds number and the polymer concentration. Profiles of Time-averaged velocity, RMS velocity fluctuations and turbulent shear stresses were measured. Special attention was dedicated to the test section design so as to minimize image distortions close to the pipe wall. At the visualization region, the pipe wall was machined to a thickness of 500 μm to minimize optical refraction of the curved surface. This thin-walled pipe in combination with a plexiglass box filled the water surrounding the pipe, allowed for PIV velocity measurements at approximately 250 μm from the pipe wall, which is equivalent to less than 10 wall units. A combination of classical PIV with particle tracking techniques was employed in the analysis of the particle displacements, what substantially enhanced the spatial resolution of the measurements. Tests were conducted for a Reynolds number range from 23000 to 80000, and for 20 ppm of Superfloc A110 polymer in water. Wall pressure measurements indicated reductions in the friction factor of the order of 50%. The results obtained demonstrated that the presence of the polymer additive alters the turbulence structure at the wall, what produces a shift in the buffer layer of the velocity profile.