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Thermal-hydraulic performance of plate heat exchanger is strongly dependent on their geometrical properties and variable viscosity effects. On the laminar region, numerical simulations with power-law fluids were performed in order to understand the influence of corrugation angle, shear thinning and thickening effects on the performance of these equipments. Corrugation angles of plate heat exchangers passages were varied between 15º and 85º and the flow index behaviour of power-law fluids between 0.85 and 1.5. The thermal-hydraulic performance of the different passages was analysed resorting to the area goodness factor. Maximum area goodness factors were obtained on corrugation angles close to 59º or 75º, depending on the flow index behaviour of the fluid. Due to the high shear rates developed on the complex passages of plate heat exchangers, shear thinning effects greatly enhances the performance of this equipments.