In this paper, we present the hydrogen storage properties of Mg-Cd alloys prepared by ball milling. Mechanical alloying of a mixture of Mg and Cd elemental powders containing up to 20 at.% Cd leads to a magnesium solid solution. The lattice spacings of the hcp Mg phase shrink with dissolution of cadmium atoms in Mg. The mechanically alloyed pure Mg-Cd alloys are very difficult to activate for hydrogen absorption. However, if vanadium and graphite additives are added, a Mg( Cd)-V-C nanocomposite forms after ball milling and the activation then becomes very easy. The hydrogen absorption/desorption kinetics are very fast. The plateau pressure and slope of hydrogen absorption/desorption increase, while the hydrogen storage capacity decreases with increasing cadmium content. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.