In this work, Ti-49.8 at.% Ni shape memory alloy (SMA) thin films were irradiated by 60-keV protons with two types of doses: 5 x 10(16) and 1 x10(17) H+/cm(2). The influence of proton irradiation on the transformation behavior of TiNi shape memory alloy films was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and glancing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD). The martensite transformation temperatures and austenite transformation temperatures shifted to lower value after proton irradiation, whereas proton irradiation has little effect on the R-phase transformation temperatures. This observation can be attributed to the formation of hydrides after proton irradiation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.