A simple model of the hydrogen desorption kinetics of metal hydrides is formulated and solved analytically. The particle surface reaction is assumed to be a rate-controlling-step. Then a volumetric measurement of hydrogen desorption process is evaluated on an example of wet ball milled magnesium hydride, and can be applied generally for any metal hydride. The solution reproduces the shape of experimental curves for desorption process. In the case of surface-controlled kinetics, a volumetric measurement requires a special evaluation of results, predicted by the solution of the model. An improved evaluation of the volumetric measurement of hydrogen desorption from magnesium hydride powders using the model has been demonstrated. (C) Copyright 2015, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.