NiAl intermetallic compounds attract increasing attention for high-temperature applications due to their combination of excellent properties, especially as metallic protective coatings on superalloys or as bond coats in thermal barrier coatings (TBCs). Oxidation behaviour of the b-NiAlHf coatings prepared by electron beam physical vapour deposition (EB-PVD) was investigated at 1100°C for short time and 100 h in 20 % O 2 ? Ar and 15 % H 2 O ? Ar, respectively. The results of mass changes reveal that the addition of minor reactive element Hf significantly improves the cyclic oxidation resistance of the bNiAl coatings in both dry and humid atmospheres. During the initial oxidation stage, water vapour retards the phase transformation from h-Al 2 O 3 to a-Al 2 O 3 . Moreover, compared with the case in dry atmosphere, water vapour significantly reduces the surface roughness of the oxide scales formed on EB-PVD b-NiAlHf coatings after 100 h cyclic oxidation, which corresponds with the difference of surface morphologies of the oxide scales.