We report the hydrothermal synthesis and structure of Fe x Co 1-x alloy nanoparticles with considerable stability against oxidation under ambient atmosphere. Powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), 57 FeMössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurements are applied to characterize the composition, morphology, crystal structure, atomic order and magnetic properties of the nanoparticles. As-prepared samples are composed mainly of the bcc Fe x Co 1-x alloy phase.TEM images of heat-treated samples confirm the nanoparticle nature of the original alloys. A consistent analysis of the experimental results leads to x 53% and x 62% Fe atomic ratio respectively in two analogous alloy samples, and suggests that the atomic level structure of the nanoparticles corresponds to that of a fully disordered (A2-type) alloy phase. Exploration of the effect of cobalt on the 57 Fe hyperfine parameters of iron microenvironments suggests that in these alloys the electronic state of Fe atoms is perturbed equally and in an additive manner by atoms in their first two coordination spheres.