Polycrystalline samples of the quaternary alloy CuTalnSe(3) were prepared by the usual melt and anneal technique. The analysis of the diffraction pattern indicates a single phase which indexes as a tetragonal chalcopyrite-like structure with lattice parameters a = 5.7837 +/- 0.0002 angstrom; c = 11.6208 +/- 0.0007 angstrom and V = 389 +/- 1 angstrom(3). Differential thermal analysis shows that the melting transition of CuTalnSe(3) is incongruent with large liquid + solids regions. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.