The structure and properties of magnesium nanopartides for hydrogen storage from reactive milling under hydrogen atmosphere with the carbon from anthracite coal carbonization as milling aid were investigated. Experiment showed that after 3 h of milling under 1 MPa of hydrogen with 30 wt.% of carbon additive, the magnesium particles were milled to 20-60 nm and hydrided into beta-MgH2 with a crystallite size of 29.7 nm. For the hydrogen desorption of the material, the onset temperature was determined to be 270 degrees C. In 270-390 degrees C, the enthalpy and entropy changes were calculated to be 44.5 kj/mol and 83.8 J/(mol K), respectively, and the activation energy as pseudo first-order reaction was 127.1 kJ/mol. The carbon still played a role of nano-confinement for magnesium to prevent particles from coalescing in the process of repeatedly heating for hydrogen storage. Copyright (C) 2014, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.