An optical system was built that allowed polarimetric measurements in the thermal IR region. A CO2 laser operating at 10.6-mu-m was used as source and the system allowed the degree of polarization of reflected radiation to be measured. As an illustration of the method used, the optical constants of fused silica were measured and compared with those in the literature. The results for this material were n = 2.01 and k = 0.45 at a wavelength of 10.6-mu-m. The present method is also applicable to other absorbing materials, such as metals.