We present a method by which to determine the bulk viscosity of water from pulse duration measurements of stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). Beginning from a common model of Brillouin scattering, the bulk viscosity is shown to play an important role in Brillouin linewidth determination. Pulse durations of SBS back-reflected optical pulses are measured over the temperature range of 5–40 oC. SBS linewidths are determined via Fourier transformation of the time-domain results, and the bulk viscosity of water is measured and derived from the obtained values. Our results show that the proposed method for measurement of pulse durations is an effective approach for determining bulk viscosity. The method can be easily extended to determine bulk viscosities of other Newtonian liquids.