Wide-angle x-ray diffraction (WAXD) of the ultra-high modulus and molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) fibers at room temperature shows a predominantly orthorhombic structure with trace amount of nonorthorhombic crystals and very low amorphous contents. The calculated unit cell dimensions a and b of the orthorhombic crystals are 7.36 (+/-0.04) Angstrom and 4.89 (+/-0.04) Angstrom, respectively. The apparent crystallite sizes perpendicular to the orthorhombic 110 and 200 reflection planes are 169.8 and 143.4 Angstrom, respectively. The crystallite size perpendicular to the nonorthorhombic 010 reflection is 149.4 Angstrom. The crystal density is calculated to be 1.02 g/cc. With increasing temperature, the thermal expansion coefficient in the a direction is much higher than that in the b direction which explains the structural transformation from the orthorhombic crystals to a pseudohexagonal form. Tension along the fiber axis while being heated during the high-temperature x-ray diffraction (HTWAXD) scanning has shown enhanced structural transformation from the orthorhombic form to the monoclinic form. Structural transformation from the orthorhombic form to the pseudohexagonal phase is not observed on the UHMWPE fibers under axial tension or annealing conditions in HTWAXD.