A multicomponent AB 2 type nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) battery alloy prepared by high-pressure gas atomization (HPGA) was investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in both the as-atomized and heat treated condition. TEM examination showed a heavily faulted dendritic growth structure in as-atomized powder. Selected area diffraction (SAD) showed that this region consisted of both a cubic C15 structure with lattice constant a=7.03 9 and an hexagonal C14 structure with lattice parameter a=4.97 9, c=8.11 9. The orientation relationship (OR) between the C14 and C15 structures was determined to be (111)[110] C 1 5 //(0001)[1120]C 1 4 . An interdendritic phase possessing the C14 structure was also seen. There was also a very fine grain region consisting of the C14 structure. Upon heat treatment, the faulted structure became more defined and appeared as intercalation layers within the grains. Spherical particles rich in Zr and Ni appeared scattered at the grain boundries instead of the C14 interdendritic phase. The polycrystalline region also changed to a mixture of C14 and C15 structures. The phase stability of the C15 and C14 structures based on a consideration of atomic size factor and the average electron concentration is discussed.