Nano-scale rare earth and transition metal oxides, obtained via a sol-gel process, were used as precursors to synthesize the intermetallic compound Nd 2 Fe 1 7 with the reduction-diffusion method. The product obtained is a single Nd 2 Fe 1 7 phase. The particles of the produced alloy, which can be controlled by the particle size of the precursors, are narrowly distributed with a typical size of a few micrometers.