Through this work we study the influence of the thickness of boron paste in the growth of Fe2B boride layer during the paste boriding thermochemical treatment applied on AISI 1045 steel. Different thickness of boron paste over the material surface with constant temperature and time show the variability of the diffusion coefficient of boron in Fe2B phase depending, basically, on the boron potential at the external surface of the substrate. The mobility of boron in the formed phase is determined by the balance mass equation that considers the concentration profiles in the corresponding interphases layer-substrate, the thermodynamic equilibrium in the growth of the iron boride layer and the experimental results obtained during the process. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.