SUMMARYPreliminary experiments were carried out in order to electrodeposit good quality and satisfactory nickel plate on to copper substrates from gluconate baths. The effects were investigated of bath composition, pH, temperature and current density on cathodic polarization, cathodic current efficiency, on the quality of the deposits and on the throwing power of baths. Highly adherent and very bright plates with metallic lustre were obtained from an optimum bath containing: NiSO4. 7H2O 0.144 mol l−1 and sodium gluconate 0.23 mol l1 at pH = 4.3, temperature 40°C and current density 1 A dm−2. The surface morphology of the as-plated nickel was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) while the structure was examined by using X-ray diffraction analysis. The throwing power of the bath is greatly improved by increasing the gluconate concentration.