The combustion process of TiO2-Mg and TiO2-Mg-C systems with sodium chloride as an inert diluent was investigated. The values of combustion parameters and temperature distribution on a high-temperature wave according to the amount of sodium chloride were obtained by the thermocoupling technique. The leading stages of combustion processes are found and the sizes of reactionary zones were estimated. It is shown that the introduction of NaCl in an initial mixture promotes the formation of a nanocrystalline structure of the final products. As a result, nanosized titanium, and titanium carbide powders have been successfully obtained. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.