As cast Sm2.3Fe16.8Zr0.2 material was milled for 100 min less than or equal to t less than or equal to 900 min. After annealing at 800 degreesC for 1 h and subsequent nitrogenation, the samples were cold compacted in a magnetic field and resin bonded. The coercivity mu H-0J(C) of the samples increased from 0.59 T (t = 100 min) to 2.18 T (t = 900 min). On the other hand, the remanence along the texture axis decreased monotonically with increasing milling time due to the decrease of the degree of texture of the aligned powders. Prolonged milling leads finally to the formation of a soft magnetic phase as indicated by a shoulder in the demagnetization curve for t > 600 min. The highest energy product (BH)(max) of 50 kJm(-3) (136 kJm(-3) for the theoretical density of 7.7 gcm(-3)) was obtained for an intermediate milling time of 400 min. Zn bonding of the powders resulted in magnets with lower energy products but improved coercivites.