Four stoichiometric compositions of nanocrystalline Mg doped carbonated hydroxyapatite (cHAp) powders are synthesized by mechanical alloying (ball milling) the powder mixtures of CaCO3, CaH-PO4 center dot 2H(2)O and MgO in open air at room temperature. FTIR analysis confirms the A-type carbonation in all milled HAp powder samples (A-cHAp). Microstructure characterization in terms of lattice imperfections and phase quantification of ball milled samples are made by analyzing XRD patterns employing Rietveld's structure refinement method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of 15 mol % Mg doped A-CHAP sample reveals microstructure similar to that obtained from XRD pattern analysis. Cumulative effect of Mg substitution and mechanical alloying results in amorphization of a major part of crystalline A-cHAp, analogous to native bone mineral. Rietveld analysis reveals that the Ca2 vacancy site is energetically more favorable for occupation of Mg substitution. MIT [3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide] assay test reveals sufficiently high percentage cell viability confirming the cytocompatibility of the sample. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.