It is shown that the intensities of electron diffraction from a commensurate multiwalled carbon nanotube are sensitive to the angle of rotation of the nanotube about its axis. This dependence is usable to measure the handedness of the commensurate graphene shells of multiwalled carbon nanotubes. The period of intensity oscillation of the scattering intensity for graphene shells of the same handedness is much larger than that for nanotube shells of opposite handedness. By examining the angular dependence of the scattering intensities, the relative handedness, having the same or opposite handedness, of the commensurate shells can, therefore, be determined. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.