The magnetic properties of the HfFe 6 Ge 6 -type RFe 6 Ge 6 (R=Sc, Lu, Ti, Zr, Hf and Nb) and RFe 6 Sn 6 (R=Sc, Lu and Zr) compounds have been investigated by susceptibility measurements in the 4.2-700 K temperature range and by magnetization measurements at 300 K and 4.2 K in fields up to 1.6 T. The germanides order antiferromagnetically with Neel points situated above 450 K and show deviation from simple uniaxial antiferromagnetic behavior at low temperature. The stannides order below about 570 K and are characterized by a small spontaneous magnetization. In both series the ordering temperature is found to slightly increase when increasing the R metal valence. The results are discussed and related to previously published powder neutron diffraction and 5 7 Fe Mossbauer spectroscopy data.