Mg-Fe mixtures, with a nominal Fe content of 3 wt.% and 6 wt.%, hereafter Mg-Fe (3 wt.%) and Mg-Fe (6 wt.%), were produced by ball milling and exposed to air for 12 h. After a proper activation procedure, which consisted in heating in vacuum and three hydriding/dehydriding cycles; their hydriding and dehydriding reactions were characterized by a gravimetric method. The hydrogen uptakes were 5.3 wt. %, 5.6 wt. % and 6.2 wt. % for the air -exposed Mg, Mg-Fe (3 wt.%) and Mg-Fe (6 wt.%) mixtures respectively at 350 degrees C and 30 bar. Pressure-Composition-Temperature (PCT) curves demonstrated a reduction of the hysteresis of the Mg-Fe mixtures as compared to pure Mg. Powder X-ray diffraction of the studied materials confirmed the formation of fine mixtures of Mg and Fe, without evidence of solid solution or mixed hydride formation. (C) 2016 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.