Two kinds of nickel nanoparticles-carbon encapsulated Ni nanoparticles Ni(C) and pure Ni nanoparticles coated with NiO layers Ni(O) are successfully prepared. Structural characterizations (HR-TEM, SAED, and XRD) reveal their distinct morphological properties. Magnetization measurements for the assemblies of two kinds of Ni nanoparticles show a larger coercivity and remanence by a deviation between the zero-field-cooled and the field-cooled magnetization below the irreversibility temperature, T-irr,T- for the assemblies of Ni(O) particles. This deviation may be explained as a typical nanocluster-glass behavior (collective behavior) due to ferromagnetic dipole-dipole interaction effects among the assemblies of Ni(O) particles. However, Ni(C) particles exhibit modified superparamagnetic properties above the average blocking temperature of T-B, which is determined to be around 115 K at 1000 Oe. Moreover, a gradual decrease in saturation magnetization is observed, which is attributed to the nanocrystalline nature of the encapsulated particles, coupled with possible carbon solution in Ni nanocrystals. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.