Compaction and extrusion of Al and Ni powder mixtures were performed by cold isostatic pressing (CIP) and differential hydrostatic extrusion (DHE) at room temperature. Relative density and Vickers hardness were determined as a function of the compaction pressure, showing a significant increase in the density with increasing Al content for comparable pressing conditions; at the same time, the addition of a very small quantity of Al in Ni decreases the hardness significantly. Williamson-Hall method was applied to determine microstrains evolution during CIP, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were performed to investigate texture evolution during DHE. Finally Archimedes' principle was used to estimate the densification occurring during DHE. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.