The effects of varying the active material loading on the discharge performance of an AA-size Zn/MnO2 alkaline cell are studied. The active material loading is characterized by two parameters that reflect the weight fraction of solid material removed from the anode and cathode, respectively, in relation to a chosen base case configuration. The anode and cathode loadings are allowed to vary independently of each other. A variety of different capacity ratios are used. Results indicate that the best design is achieved by a specified reduction in the cathode loading, with a balanced amount of the cathode and anode active materials.