Magnesium thin films of 350 nm, capped with Pd, were deposited on glass substrates and hydrogenated in two different conditions; namely isochronal and isothermal. As-deposited films were highly textured with Mg (001) parallel to the glass substrate. Experiments have shown that under isothermal conditions starting from 333 K, Mg films can absorb hydrogen producing MgH(2) with a random texture. When the films were heated slowly starting from the room temperature, hydrogenation gives rise to a textured MgH2, where (110) parallel to the substrate. (101) is also present in this texture as a minor component. Formation of the textured hydride in isochronal loading was discussed within the context of the lattice mismatch in a Mg to MgH(2) transformation. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.