A unique scalelike structured Ni-P alloy coated vapor-grown carbon nanofibers (VGCNFs) were fabricated by an electroless deposition method following pre-treatment of activation. The coating was found to be homogeneous and mesoporous. The scalelike structure gives the composite material a very high surface area of 74.2 m(2)/g, significantly higher than the only reported scalelike structured Ni-P/CNFs catalyst. Hence, it is suggested to have great potential in wide applications, especially catalysts. A relatively low level of phosphorus content was discovered, which result in a mixture of amorphous and crystalline in the initial state. Moreover, our results show that the Ni-P coating and VGCNFs have an interaction effect on the oxidation temperature of each other. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.