A definition of a shock layer of thickness $\delta$ is proposed when a parabolic perturbation is applied to a scalar conservation law. The asymptotic equality $\delta\asymp\sqrt{\varepsilon}$ is established, where $\varepsilon$ denotes viscosity. This equality is proved to be optimal. Nevertheless, the equality $\delta\asymp\varepsilon$ is also proved to be valid for a class of shocks in accordance with the Mises conjecture.
AMS 2000 Mathematics subject classification: Primary 35L67. Secondary 35K65
