Raney-Ni cathodes were prepared on nickel wire from aluminum powder and tin powder by heat treatment. The influence of tin addition to the Raney-Ni electrode on the polarization characteristics of the hydrogen evolution reaction was studied in 1 M NaOH at 303 K. The surface layer of the tin added Raney-Ni electrode was composed of nickel, aluminum, and tin. The crystallite structure of the surface was the NiAl phase and its X-ray diffraction pattern was broadened. The tin-added Raney-Ni electrode had a high catalytic activity for the hydrogen evolution reaction. The Tafel slope of the tin-added Raney-Ni electrode decreased from 120 mV/decade to 70 mV/decade. It was suggested that its mechanism of the hydrogen evolution reaction in alkaline solution was different from that of the nickel electrode. (C) 2000 International Association for Hydrogen Energy.