(La, Ce, Pr, Nd)(2)MgNi9 hydrogen storage alloys were prepared through induction melting followed by a long annealing treatment. The structure and electrochemical properties of annealed alloys have been investigated by orthogonal design experiments. Both the individual effects of each substituting element and their interaction in alloys were studied systemically. It has been shown that the structure of main phase in alloys belongs to PuNi3-type with a space group R-3m. Substituting rare-earth elements have a significant effect on both the phase structure of alloys and microstructure. The anisotropic change in the crystal structure of alloys can cause the acceleration of pulverization of alloy particles and result in the deterioration of the cyclic stability of alloy electrodes. Misch metals can raise the plateau pressure of hydrogen absorption/desorption. The discharge capacity of alloy ranges from 342.97 to 380.68 mAh g(-1) depending on the sort and content of substituting elements. Both cerium and neodymium can obviously reduce the discharge capacity of alloy electrodes. When compared to the La2MgNi9 alloy electrode, mish metals can significantly improve the high rate dischargeability of alloy electrodes. The improvement of the kinetic characteristic of alloy electrodes mainly results from the increase of the hydrogen diffusion rate in alloy bulk. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.