We investigate the role of p- and n-type doping in strain relaxation of graded composition InGaAs layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy. It is found that p-type Be-doping can improve material properties, resulting in smaller surface roughness and lower threading dislocation density, while n-type Si-doping has an opposite effect. The effect is strongly dependent on the grading profile, with linear grading showing small differences, while there is a significant difference when an exponential grading is used. Since doping is essential for many types of devices, these results are useful for improving the material properties and performance of metamorphic devices. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.