In this work the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at Ni-Sn alloy coatings, deposited onto Ni 40 mesh at different current densities from the bath containing 0.1 mol dm(-3) SnCl2 + 0.3 mol dm(-3) NiCl2 in the pyrophosphate-glycine solutions, was investigated by polarization and EIS measurements. The morphology and chemical compositions of all samples were investigated by the SEM and EDS techniques. It was shown that their morphologies and chemical compositions depend on the deposition current density. The increase of their catalytic activity for the HER in 6 mol dm(-3) KOH and in 1 mol dm(-3) NaOH with increasing the deposition current density was shown to be the consequence of the change of both: their chemical composition and morphology. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.