The stress-induced martensitic transformation characteristics of a new CoNiAl alloy were investigated under compression. Pseudoelasticity, stages of transformation, and thermal cycling under constant stress were revealed. The present CoNiAl alloy is a candidate material not only for magnetic but also for conventional and high-temperature shape memory alloy applications. 2003 Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.